When some people are struck with a catastrophic injury, they don’t take the time to think about how they can better their life in the future. Instead, they look toward the past and wonder why they have been put in a bad situation.
However, this is not the case for everybody who has been hit with a catastrophic injury. The story of an artist who was paralyzed in 1997 is one that can have a positive impact on our Alabama readers as well as those in other parts of the country.
On March 28, 1996, when driving in the Richmond, Virginia, area, the woman, who was 20 years old at the time, was hit by a stray bullet. As a result, she was paralyzed.
Authorities never did find the person who fired the gun, but this did not slow the woman down in the least. Three months after she was shot, she was taken to the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago. It was then that she began to get her life back on track. After a couple of months, a therapist suggested that the woman attempt to write with her left hand. When she was unable to do so, the therapist asked her to try to write with the pen in her month. She found that this was second nature. From there, the woman used this method of control to continue her career as an artist.
This story is a great example of a catastrophic injury that did not slow the victim down. Even when an attorney is consulted following an accident, it is up to the victim to take the first step toward physical and emotional recovery.
Source: Republican American, “Undeterred after a stray bullet, the artist within is reborn” Ted Gregory, Feb. 18, 2014
