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Christopher Reeve Inspired Me To Walk Again!-August 31, 2005

 
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PostPosted: Sat Aug 12, 2006 11:54 pm    Post subject: Christopher Reeve Inspired Me To Walk Again!-August 31, 2005 Reply with quote

Meeting Christopher Reeve Inspired Me To Walk Again!


By Kevin Adgey. Journalist



Kevin Adgey


It was 7:00PM, June 13, 1998 in Calgary.....I was riding my bicycle westbound on Bow Trail and an off-duty paramedic driving a Geo Tracker hit me from behind. Forty five miles per hour, and I broke my neck, my back, all my ribs, pelvis. I was in rough shape, fourteen multiple injuries, and I was in a coma for thirty three days, put on life support, seven chest tubes. I had a halo screwed into my head. I was not breathing at the scene, but the halo was off by the time I woke up. The back brace was also off and while I was in a coma, I was suspended over my bed. They did surgery on my leg with a fourteen inch nail and three screws. because of the break, I ended up having a embolus which is a blood clot and had respiratory failure. I was in trouble for a while, and had surgery on my lung and had a third of it taken out. I was paralyzed from the neck down for a long time. Since then I have had two strokes about three or four years after the accident and a heart attack as a result of the injuries.


Kevin having some fun in the motorized scooter and braces on his legs.

I went through physiotherapy, tons of it.....I stood for two seconds the first day and I thought that was the best day of my life! I gave up on myself one time for about four years until I met Shane - my younger foster brother - almost my real brother now. He is like the little brother I never had. He popped up after eighteen years and seen me in a scooter and told me I'm going to walk again.


Shane makes a metaphor of Kevin's situation with a beat up car.


Just after Shane left in 2001, I went on the internet for stuff on paralysis, to read up on it, and there was a web site. I e-mailed this guy and told him what happened. I got an e-mail back and it said we are sorry to hear what happened; the question "do you want to walk - yes or no?" So I e-mailed him back and said yah but the doctor said I would never walk again. He said "thats not what I asked you, do you want to walk - yes or no!" I said yes and he said just do it! I finally looked up the e-mail address and its Christopher Reeve's e-mail address.

I was having a lot of problems getting there and because Christopher Reeve was paralysed from the neck down and he was actually doing really well moving his arms and moving his legs, I asked him how he does it. He said "Well when do you want to meet". So I thought well - October 14. He asked me where? So I named the coffee shop and gave him the address. And then he he asked me what time I wanted to meet him and I told him "how about two o'clock". He says "Done!". So its a week later its about quarter to two. I'm right around the coffee shop so I'm in my car chair, I was thinking this guy says he is Christopher Reeve.....I'm probably going to get stood up. Two minutes to two, him and his wife show up. "I'm looking for Kevin" says Reeve. Two hours we talked and he told me to have faith, believe in myself, don't give up. He showed me what he could do and I thought, if he could do this - so can I! From there on in I started to keep going and going and I had more problems, went backwards a little bit, and I just did not want to give up. I did not let it bother me. I got out of the wheel chair around 2003. I've learned through my life not to give up. If you're having any problems whatsoever and you think nothing is going to work, you've got to keep trying, you got to have faith, believe in yourself.


Kevin standing proud, no more wheelchair!
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