I was eighteen years old when I was working at JobCorp and had just earned my first weekend pass, where I traveled to Indiana. I was with a guy I was working with, and we enjoyed ourselves while walking down a street. A stranger came up to us and started a fight. I was holding my own when he pulled out a gun and shot me. The stranger initially took off after the guy I was with, but he came back and shot me again.
I was transferred to MetroHealth after about 30 days in a hospital in Indiana. From the hospital side of MetroHealth, I was transferred to the inpatient rehab unit, where I relearned how to do everything again. I was thankful that I was alive but sad about everything that happened. I had to go through a tough recovery.
After my mind got right again, about two to three years after I was shot, I shifted my mind to the goals that I had before this injury happened. I reset my short-term and long-term goals. I’ve always wanted to be a homeowner and had other goals that I slowly realized could still happen.
I started flipping cars and saving all the money I could to accomplish a short-term goal while working toward my long-term goal of homeownership. Shortly before COVID hit, I accomplished my goal and bought my first home with cash. Family is important to me, as I have four children, and my partner and I got married a few years ago.
I was introduced to the Cleveland Cavaliers wheelchair basketball team shortly after my injury. I loved the sport and had been playing for about 5 years before COVID hit. After a couple of years off, I returned to the sport and have loved the experience. Our team even made it to the Eastern Conference Finals and the D2 Championship, which was a great experience that I won’t forget. And, in the past couple of years, I was introduced to the Cleveland Browns wheelchair football team and have since been playing with them.
I have always loved sports and continue to play for their benefits. Sports help me physically by keeping me in shape and mentally by pushing through adversity and the toughness of playing a sport. Building community and friends was a bonus of joining a sport. We also get to do demos with kids at schools or hospitals. It’s such a fun experience seeing these kids light up as we make baskets and talk about the sport from a different perspective. They make us feel like we are stars and ask if we know professional basketball players. It is my favorite part of playing wheelchair basketball.
The biggest advice I would give to anyone with a spinal cord injury is to really take care of yourself and move your body in some way, even if it’s a quick 15-minute workout. Go get bloodwork, do pressure shifts, and build a great relationship with your doctor. If you aren’t getting along with your doctor, you need to get another opinion or find a new one. You have one body to take care of.
Another piece of advice that I would give is to develop short, mid, and long-term goals. Those goals can be used as a driving force for motivation—they’re what keep you fighting every day. Short-term goals should lead to accomplishing your long-term goals.
