It has almost been five years since my husband became paraplegic. On October 9, 2005 he suffered an ascending aortic dissection. His survival from the dissection was a miracle but it resulted in paraplegia from T-10. It is permanent. Our lives changed dramatically that night but we were so overwhelmed that we had no idea how much would change.
Since that date we've dealt with congestive heart failure, another heart attack, a stent, a temporary aortic valvuloplasty, two stage IV pressure sores, infections, surgeries, pneumonia, various injured toes, wound healing, home nurses, (both good and bad), as well as diabetes, daily wound care and so many other details.
As part of Neal's recovery he learned to drive using hand controls on a conversion van, then had to pass a driving exam using them. Until exam day we had not put the passenger seat in the van, using that space instead for Neal's wheelchair. Before we went to the DMV for the test I put the passenger seat in place so that the examiner would have someplace to sit. However I only locked down one set of seat clamps, and the first time Neal drove around a corner, the seat and the examiner tipped sideways. Neal handled driving just fine and passed the exam. The only comment we were given was "Fix the passenger seat." Oops.
Handicap permits expire after five years and have to be renewed so the image you see is of our old tag. It is no longer valid. We picked up the new ones this week - they are good until 2015.
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