Image Credit: CFJC Today / Jill Sperling

By Jill Sperling

Spinal Cord Injury Awareness

Spinal cord injury survivors work to change misconceptions about life with a disability

Sep 25, 2019 | 4:49 PM

KAMLOOPS — September is Spinal Cord Injury Awareness Month.

For those paralyzed by a spinal cord injury, there are far more obstacles than simply not being able to walk.

Paraplegics face accessibility challenges and simple tasks take extra time.

Jessica Vliegenthart is a personal injury lawyer, athlete, wife, mother and paraplegic.

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“When you see somebody in a wheelchair I think there’s sometimes a default assumption of you might think you know what their life looks like,” she said, “and I’m talking about spinal cord injury to sort of open the door a bit and say, ‘I don’t know if you do.’ Our lives are incredibly varied and full and wonderful and I just want to share a bit more about that with people.”

Vliegenhart was injured while working as a forest firefighter 15 years ago.

“I would say that the gravity of the situation didn’t really hit home until I was, you know, in hospital and then in rehab, learning about life with a spinal cord injury,” Vliegenthart said. “It’s a lot more than just not walking.”

Image Credit: Contributed by Jessica Vliegenthart

Vliegenthart had to relearn how to do every day activities in a wheelchair, but she persevered, acquiring two university degrees and even playing wheelchair basketball for Team Canada at the 2012 London Paralympics.

“There are really common misconceptions about what people with disabilities have to contribute, and I’m having a lot of fun changing those perceptions,” she said.

For Dan McLean, his experience with a spinal cord injury is much more recent.

“My accident occurred in the middle of April,” McLean said. “My brother and I were turkey hunting and we had just shot a turkey. My brother was behind me with a gun on his shoulder and he bent over, and when he bent over the trigger went off and I got shot in the back.”

Suddenly, life as he knew it had changed.

“Things when you walk you don’t even think twice about,” McLean said. “You come to a business frontage and there’s a little step and you just hop and make your way into it.”

The community came together to remodel McLean’s basement into an accessible space and he is now exploring new activities.

“I just want to thank all the support I’ve been given; family, friends, co-workers, businesses,” he said. “It’s been pretty awesome, and it’s been a big step for me to be able to get out and start enjoying life again.”