So many of us on the quad list have succeeded just through sheer determination and grit and I certainly admire each and every one. All of us, all people, have different drives. I have one daughter who is very laid back, is quite happy with her decisions in life and just shrugs her shoulders when her assertive siblings want her to do more and push herself more and just continues on her way. She's happy, so I am too. It's that way in quad life, some of us are driven to stretch and push and do not want to give up some of our dreams that we had before. It can lead to failure but it can also be very rewarding.
I think you have done a lot with your life, and I am sure that you have helped many people. This was your decision however and your dream, and you have successfully found a way to make it happen. Kudos! Others are happy living a less driven lifestyle and kudos to them for making that choice. I am one of the driven ones, sometimes I think it is a curse because it often leads to frustration, but I can no more change my being and my drives that I can stop the Moon from rising. J I do see both of your sides of the story, and admire each of you for what you have accomplished and will accomplish in the future. I do believe that luck is involved if only that we are lucky enough to recognize an opportunity when it happens. Have a great weekend everyone. Joan From: Aaron Mann [mailto:aman...@gmail.com] Sent: Friday, October 25, 2013 4:56 PM To: RONALD L PRACHT Cc: quad-list@eskimo.com Subject: Re: [QUAD-L] Like him or hate him, he is a role model Ron, I love you man, but that's a very defeatist attitude. It can be argued that ANY successful person got there with the support of others. But, to say the ONLY way a person with a disability can be successful is to be "lucky" enough to have supports in place. It's not luck, it's all a matter of your own perception of what you can or cannot do. This falls in line with what is happening to this country where the thought is that you must have your entitlements to survive. It's simply not true. Yes, many more obstacles are added when you have a disability, but it is still up to each and every one of us to suck it up, and do the best we can. If you don't have the support, find it, it's there. As a counselor, I met with hundreds of people with disabilities every year. I spent most of my time convincing them not to sit idle trying to live on the government money, but to get the job, get the therapy, get the counseling. All of that apathy stems from our poorly structured government aid programs. None of them have anything built into enforce that the people receiving the money are doing anything to better themselves. I am not ignoring the fact that some of us have more severe disabilities. Where without support the slope is much steeper. But, I believe deeply that as long as you are alive, there is a way to contribute. Each of us has our definition of success and independence. As Quads, we the most powerful tool available to us, our brain. Do everything you can with what you have. I am a C4-5 quad who cannot transfer, take care of bathroom needs, nor transport myself (for the first 15 years). At 17 I went to college using Vocational Rehab programs. I was responsible for everything in my life except the cost of paying for college and attendant care. I made all of the connections needed to survive; friends, attendants. I had family, but purposely went to school in a different city. Getting away was my biggest step toward the independence I wanted. When graduation came, I swore I'd never take SSDI. I found petty jobs fixing peoples computers until I became employed. Did it pay great, no, but it was enough to scrape by; paying for attendants and such. I had many opportunities to run home; sickness, bed wounds, jobless, and divorce. But, I knew that that path would not lead to success. Now, many years later, I educated myself on an ongoing basis. (through both Vocational Rehab and Employer Assistance). Have a wonderful family, I have a good job. Looking back, I don't consider anything I did to be because of "luck". I relied on the supports I created. Nor was it because I am 1 in a million. I did what almost all of us can do. Sorry for the rant, but I feel very strongly about this topic. We're not as weak as we seem. Aaron Mann On Fri, Oct 25, 2013 at 1:29 PM, RONALD L PRACHT <r.pra...@sbcglobal.net> wrote: I remember a talk I had with my spinal cord doctor years ago and he told me, "no successful quad ever becomes successful on his own". Thats what we all have to understand, if you are lucky enough to have support you go far, if you have no support you are lucky to survive, then there are most of us in the middle. Not everybody can achieve the same things, its simply not a fair fight. You do as good as you can personally and then you can sleep at night. Ron From: "gah17...@aol.com" <gah17...@aol.com> To: quad-list@eskimo.com Sent: Friday, October 25, 2013 11:23 AM Subject: [QUAD-L] Like him or hate him, he is a role model Friday night @ 10:00 p.m. on Sean Hannity Show on Fox will be a quad that didn't let his injury stop him. Glenn Henry G.A.Henry Radio 100 Mill Street Washington Boro, PA 17582
