In 2010, Janie experienced an incomplete spinal cord injury after falling off a roof. At the time, her youngest daughter, Danielle, was 2 years old. Like most parents who have to spend time in the hospital following an injury or illness, Janie saw how Danielle was afraid to be near her initially at the hospital. But even at that time, looking ahead to what the future held for her as a parent with a spinal cord injury Janie had an idea of what was in store for her.
“I wasn’t afraid. I just knew things were going to be a lot more difficult.”
Since Janie’s injury, she and her family have settled into a new way of doing things – a new routine that works for them. And family teamwork plays a big role in their lives. Everyone pitches in for the benefit of the family. For example, Danielle does things like help her mom unload the dishwasher, and open the community mailbox to retrieve the day’s mail. And Janie’s older daughter, Jaylene, moved next door to be able to help out more easily.
Help is a big topic for Janie in her everyday life. Janie has had to learn that asking for help is okay. She’s also had to learn to make a “conscious choice about what to spend her energy on” every day. Some days it may be grocery shopping, other days it may be cleaning the house. But getting everything done in one day is impossible – and that’s okay. That’s just the way it is now.
Janie says her family has been her biggest cheerleaders and supporters post injury. They help her not only physically, but they also help her maintain a positive outlook on life.
“This is just part of our life and a lot of great things have come since I broke my back, and a lot of things I have in my life because I broke my back. So I can’t complain about too much.”
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