Going to College with a Physical Disability

“So, what do you want out of life?” my inner voice asked me. It would be an easy question if it weren’t for the situation in which I found myself. At that instant, I was an about to go home resident of a rehabilitation hospital, and recently comatose. The question’s answer, however, was as complex as love.

I want to get out of here, have a family, a career, lead a normal life, I told myself. Convinced that being hospitalized for a year was more than just a bump in the road, I steeled myself for the onslaught.

And an onslaught it was: wheelchairs, medical equipment, health-care professionals-each with an opinion that may or may not have fit with the plan, if there was a plan. (That is a matter of opinion.)

Every detail was weighed and considered, compared against a similar aspect with just slightly different qualities which yielded only a miniscule difference in results. The final outcome would often be the same with either choice.

To top it off, my family had no experience with any type of long-term injury. Oh, there were coughs and colds and allergies, even a broken bone or two, but nothing like this.

All through the ordeal of my hospitalization, my family learned that doctors don’t know everything. It was a shock to them, when health-care professionals often answered “We don’t know,” when asked about any recovery. I will present several glaring examples as proof that doctors don’t know everything: In the coma, my body had gotten stiff from lying face up immobile for months. The doctors wanted to operate on my hips, so I would be able to sit in a chair one day. (Having that surgery meant that I would never be able to walk.)

In their great wisdom, my parents did not give permission for that procedure, saying, “He just needs time.” My hips were never touched by any medical instrument nor any procedure suggested by doctors who didn’t offer a positive outcome. So nothing was done as a result. The course of action proposed by my parents proved correct. In time, I would be able to sit in a chair or anywhere, even walk with a cane.

Another incorrect opinion offered to my family by doctors was that of “If Todd ever comes out of the coma, he will probably be a total vegetable.” That opinion was given to two people who were heartbroken…talk about kicking a man when he’s down…I know doctors try to give relatives of patients worst-case scenarios so they can be prepared for the worst, but still.