Spinal Cord Injury Awareness Month + (GIVEAWAY)

September is coming to an end and that means this will be the last giveaway for this month. I want to thank EVERYONE who has been supportive of this and joined in on helping spread awareness this month. I cannot put into words how much it means to me. I also want to let ANYONE who may need it that the Christoper and Dana Reeves have a crisis hotline you can call if you're feeling depressed. The number to call is 1 866 697 8394. Check the Reeve Foundation website for more info about living life with a SCI!
This month my goal was to spread as much awareness as I could. I know with social media being such a powerful way to spread messages fast, this would be the best way to spread awareness and hopefully change someones life. I know a lot of you guys may not understand or really care about this stuff, but it could come as useful one day if you or someone you love experiences a spinal cord injury. Just THREE years ago I was heading off to my first out patient therapy center. I remember we had so much trouble finding a therapy center to take me because my age and injury, nobody wanted to work with me. I finally found a center that had no problem taking me and I was so relieved whenever we ended up being accepted. My therapist ended up becoming one of my favorites and she really pushed me to my limits and I loved that. I was so sad when we had to part ways because I met all my goals with her. One thing I'd like to see is more therapists who are wiling to take risks like she did. I'd like to see more therapy centers adapted so that people who do have a spinal cord injury can get therapy without having to search high and low for it. I know knee replacements and things are more common, but I would still like to see this change being made. 
I hope you guys enjoyed this month and enjoyed entering this giveaway. This last one is super fun and I hope you enjoy as well. We will be giving away a CUSTOM 6' WEAVING from WOOL + WOOD CO, the Maybelline Nude's palette and a little prize pack from me. If you've entered any of the giveaway from this month, you basically have completed entries into this giveaway... so go ahead and fill out the widget so you can win. (below is an example of the weavings Wool + Wood Co has created.)

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#IAMMORETHAN My Disability

I've been wanting to make a video like this for a while and when I saw that Kylie Jenner recently launched an Instagram campaign called #IAMMORETHAN.. I figured this was the time. September is spinal cord injury awareness month and I try my best to educate as many people that come into question about my disability. My disability is a part of me and it's one of the most obvious things about me. I think that because my disability is visible, many people tend to make assumptions about me (& really the disability community as a whole) that tend to be more on the negative side. Everyone always focuses on how much I've changed and what I lost because of my injury but in the same sense, I'm still the same Sabrina I've always been. I just get around differently now.

I'd love for you to join the conversation by using #iammorethan on your social media.

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Spinal Cord Injuries: The Basics ( & a giveaway!)

With September being Spinal Cord Injury Awareness month, I really want to do my best to pack this month full of information and hopefully it will be helpful to one of you guys. Like I said in last weeks post, I didn't know much about the injury before it became my reality. I remember always having a weird fear about breaking my back because in the back of my mind I knew it could cause me to be paralyzed but I never thought much into it.

A lot of you are curious about MY personal injury and I can send you over to the post I wrote while I was still in the hospital. I feel that even though those words aren't perfectly put together, it sums up exactly how I was feeling at the time of my wreck and during some pretty intense recovery. You can find that post HERE.

I wanted to start this off with the basics about spinal cord injuries so that you can get an understanding of what the injury IS and then we can get more in depth. Whenever I speak about SCIs, I will be speaking mostly about my personal injury, as every SCI is different. What may be the case for me, might not be for someone else who has the exact same injury. Feel free to leave questions in the comments or email me. I will be doing a Q+A at the end of the month.

So, What is a Spinal Cord Injury?
- A spinal cord injury is an injury to any part of the spinal cord. This often will result in being paralyzed or having some sort of loss in the strength.  There are different levels at which the person can be injured. My personal injury level is t12, which is around the belly button. So I stop being able to feel around that area but I have movement into my hips. I've regained a lot of feeling since my accident but nothing is even close to being back to what it was before my injury.

How do they happen? Who can get injured?
- A SCI can happen to ANYONE. That's why it's so important to be educated. I met a girl in physical therapy once who went for a run, she ended up tripping and breaking her neck. What started off as a simple daily task ended up with her having to work to regain function of her arms and legs again. Around 11,000 people get injured each year and most of those injuries are from car accidents. The second highest percent comes from sports injuries. It's also stated that more men are injured then women. People can also become injured whenever they get a virus that can attack their spinal cord.

Each injury is different, no two are alike. I think it's so important to be aware because it could be you. I never once thought I would become paralyzed at 19... nobody thinks something bad will happen to them.

Oh, and there's a giveaway. Each week of September I will be hosting a giveaway and this is week TWO! Head back to week one to find out the winner of last weeks giveaway!

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CAMP POSSABILITY |

The last week I went away to camp for the first time since my accident. I was contacted a few months back by a lady named Lauren who had invited me to come to Camp PossAbility, a camp designed for high function adults (with a high school diploma) with some sort of physical disability. I honestly wasn't that excited about going, as camping really isn't my thing. Lauren and I stayed in contact and I started thinking about how good this could be from me. Not only would this get me out of the house for a week, it would give me a chance to connect with others who are in a similar situation as me. The camp offered a lot of activities that I don't have the access to do at home, such as zip lining, canoeing, adaptive biking and so much more. So I decided to go, even though this was totally out of my comfort zone. My sister kept telling me it could be a God thing I went and I don't think there's a better way to sum up my week at camp.

I started to get really nervous the day of and I wasn't sure how I was going to survive a week without my phone, without my bed and without being close to the people I know and love. I tend to have trouble sleeping at night because my anxiety gets so bad and keeps me awake. The only thing that really seems to calm me down is being able to talk to Dustin or my sister.. and without a phone for a week, I wasn't sure how I was going to manage sleeping. I also worried I wasn't going to be able to make connections with people outside our disabilities and I didn't just want to focus on being someones friend because we both struggle with some sort of disability.. I wanted to form connections because we had common interests.

As soon as I started talking to people and getting to know them, their stories and their struggles- it really became clear to me that it was totally a God thing I was there. It opened my eyes to see the struggles that a lot of people face daily and it was a humbling experience. It showed me how much I truly have to be thankful for and how blessed I truly am.

I never really get out a lot because my anxiety makes it hard for me to leave the comfort of my home. I hate that I've allowed something to control me like that and coming to camp made it easy for me. I didn't have to worry about things being accessible and me being embarrassed because I couldn't get in some place. I didn't have to worry about the awkward things that come with my disability making me stand out. I didn't feel uncomfortable about my chair once because everyone there understood exactly where I was coming from in some way and nothing had to be awkward. I honestly don't think there was one point at camp that I felt overly anxious... I felt "normal" for once and that's not a feeling I'm used to.

I know a lot of people who have spinal cord injuries read my blog and that's why I wanted to share my experience about camp. I never knew there was such a thing as adaptive camps and I think that it could really benefit a lot of people to go. You get to experience a week where you're the norm and you don't even have to think twice about your disability. You just get to live life and I think that's really rad.

I wasn't sure what the week would hold for me but I'm so glad I decided to go to camp last week. I'm glad I got out of my comfort zone and tried something new. Below is the highlight video of the week at camp and some of the things we were able to do! If you're thinking about coming next year, I suggest it!

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#UnderAwareness + Saying Goodbye To The Stigma

Thank you to Depend for sponsoring today’s post about the #underwareness movement. 

A while back- I wrote a post about dropping my pants for the #underawareness movement and Depends is BACK with this social campaign to spread awareness about bladder leakage and end the stigma. I have shared my personal struggle with bladder leakage on this blog before and I was so nervous about sharing... but the truth in the matter is that I'm not alone. 51 million women experience bladder leakage and almost EVERY person I've met with a spinal cord injury has lost some (most of the time ALL) control over their bladder.

When you think of bladder leakage, what comes to your mind? I bet you think of old people in the nursing home but you're wrong. Bladder leakage can happen to anyone and most people who experience leakage are in their 20s! As someone who has a disability, I can totally vouch for this. I never knew that being injured COULD mean I would experience something along the lines of bladder leakage. This is a daily struggle for me and I'm thankful that Depends has this campaign going on.

The thing with bladder leakage is that is can be embarrassing and it's totally inconvenient but Depends has made it easier with their Depend Silhouette Active Fit briefs. They are moderate-absorbency and they are thin for comfort. They come in two different colors- black and beige and they look and FEEL just like real underwear. These make life with bladder leakage just a bit easier to handle and you can grab a FREE SAMPLE right now so you can try them out for yourself! I know people of all ages who have struggles with leakage and upon talking to them, you realize how common it really is.


If you are struggling with bladder leakage and feel comfortable sharing your story, I would love to hear it! Make sure you check out the #underawareness to find out how you can help end the stigma and check out the Depends page to grab a FREE sample! 

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GETTING BEHIND THE WHEEL |

GUYS- I HAVE MY DRIVERS LICENSE AGAIN! I can now legally drive and I am so happy about that! Freedom is finally coming my way.

So let's back up a little so I can tell you about it all. My goal for driving was actual to be driving by the end of 2014. I pushed it off and didn't start getting things rolling until the end of the year. I finally got in touch with someone around November of 2014 and she met with me in October to go over some paperwork. She ended up getting me in touch with a man named Jon who would be my driving instructor for the hand controls.

I let my license expire when I turned 21 because I knew I would have to take a driving test again (because of my disability and the restrictions I need on my license) and I wasn't prepared for that... because I let it expire, I was told I would need to take the written test to get a permit (I had no valid license to practice driving with). I suck at tests and I had a lot of anxiety about taking the written test. I finally went in to the DMV to take the test and the wouldn't let me. It was very confusing but I ended up getting a permit that day and I schedule a meeting with Jon to practice with the hand controls.

Jon worked about 2 hours from where I live and because it's hard for me to get a ride- we decided that if we both felt comfortable, I would just take my driving test the same day I went down to practice. This was a bit scary because I had not drove since my accident and I wasn't sure how I was going to react to being behind the wheel again. I basically didn't sleep the night before because I was so nervous.. but it ended up not being bad at all.

Jon and I practiced for about 2 hours before I felt comfortable enough to take my test. Driving with hand controls was a lot easier than I thought and being in control of a car again wasn't as scary as I thought it would be. I was so shocked at how comfortable I felt. During my test, the instructor told me I was a great driver. (Jon didn't test me- someone else did) and I ended up PASSING with a score of SEVEN! I only missed two things (I braked hard once bc the brakes were touchy and I backed out into the other lane a little) so I got my license on the spot! I was so happy and so proud of myself.

Now for the future- I have to find a car. I was going to use my dads car because he never uses it but because of personal reasons I plan on trying to get another car. I should have my hand controls in about a month and then I can start applying for jobs!

I'm proud of myself for facing the fears I've had for two years and I'm proud that I'm taking control of my life again. It's a slow process but this is just another step in the right direction and it was a great start to 2015.


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HONEST TO BLOG | WORDS PT TWO

I wanted to take a second to take things a bit more personal and kind of shed some light on a post I wrote a looongg time ago. THIS post has seemed to cause a lot.. uneasy feelings in a few of my readers. I've had a few of you email me personally and tell me how it made you afraid to talk to me.

In case you didn't click the link above, I'll explain to you what the post was about. I wrote a post called "Honest to Blog: Words" a while back and I basically listed a few things I hear SO often from people who are trying to be positive or helpful but to me, I find them rude or annoying. I explained WHY I felt the way I did and I tried my best to really get across that I am not a person who gets offended easily... but I'm starting to realize that maybe my words came on too strong.

Please know that whatever you say to me (unless I can tell you're straight up being a turd)- I will not be upset or mad at you. If you've said something that made that list, please know I don't love you any less. I know that it's hard to understand things when you're not in the situation AND what bothers me may not bother someone else. I also know that a lot of that is just things people know to say or it comes naturally. I've been paralyzed for 2 years now.. so I've kind of got used to the most common things people say.

I wrote that post for me.. and also for people to kind of get a little look inside my brain. I never want any of you to feel like you can't email me or say hello to me. I do not mind talking about my spinal cord injury or even answering any questions you may have.. and I'm sorry if that post made you feel that way.

I love you all. Thanks for reading! Sorry for a random text post butttt I thought it needed to be said! Happy Hump Day, babes!


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Dropping My Pants?!

Let's talk about something personal. I have honestly went back and forth on rather or not I should post something SO personal on my blog- but I've always been honest with you guys and there's nothing stopping that now.

Many of you are aware that I suffered a spinal cord injury two years ago and September is Spinal Cord Injury awareness month. I haven't really talked much about my spinal cord injury recently but when I got an email telling me all about the Depend UnderAwareness campaign- I knew it time to shed some light on the more personal side on my injury.

Due to my injury, I lost control over my bladder- which of course means I basically had to retrain my bladder all over again and that meant there were often times where I experienced leakage. I never knew that being paralyzed also came with bladder issues so it was a very weird day when I had to have the doctors explain to me that to me.  When I first came home from the hospital, I only ever wore Depend brand underwear because I feared leaking. It was embarrassing and made me feel so.. old. The crazy thing is that I'm not alone here. 65 million Americans experience bladder leakage, half of them are under 50 and 12 million are under age 35. Through sharing my struggle of bladder leakage- I found out how common it was and that made it a lot easier to handle the situation.

If you're struggling with bladder leakage- first of all know you aren't alone. It's embarrassing to talk about but it's also important to talk about it. I would personally like to shed more light on the situation and Depend  is helping do that! Depend will donate $1, up to $3 million, over the next three years to charities that advance the research, education and awareness of bladder leakage for:

-Every pant drop, photo and video shared Using #Underwareness and #DropYourPants; and
-Every personal video made about what Underwareness means to you that is uploaded to YouTube and tagged #Underwareness and #DropYourPants

You can also visit the Depend landing page to grab yourself a free sample. Check the video below to hear Mighty Mike McGee talk about why he's dropping his pants! 



Many thanks to Depend for sponsoring today’s story and encouraging people to #dropyourpants for #underwareness. This month's advertisement

celebration of life giveaway

Today I have a HUGE giveaway for you guys! I am so happy to be able to give back but today's a very special day to me. Today marks TWO YEARS since my car accident and I vowed to celebrate this day as a day of life and I wanted you to celebrate with me! Below I have some lovely ladies who joined me to make this giveaway possible for you all. There will be a total of FIVE winners- so you have a better chance of winning. Check them out + what we are giving away below!

HEY SABRINA FAITH / ALLURING SALON

EASTONS MAMA   / FROM A TO Z / BECOMING ADORRABLE,

 MARCH TO DECEMBER / A BEAUTY MOMENT /  BRING MORE YARN  

BEAUTY BY MISS L   / JUSTINA'S GEMS   / HELLO FELECIA

This giveaway will be international and there will be a total of FIVE winners. 

PRIZE 1 / Too Faced Chocolate Bar Palette

PRIZE 2 / 50$ Worth of gift cards. (Winners choice.)

PRIZE 3 / Sexy Hair Kit (Includes Blow Dry Volumizing Gel, Powder Play & Spray and Play Harder Hairspray)

PRIZE 4 / CHI Olive Travel Kit  (includes: Chi Olive Nutrient Therapy Shampoo, Conditioner, Therapy Treatment Paste, Therapy Silk Oil, Therapy Glaze, Therapy Spritz.)

PRIZE 5 / Bracelet + Prize Pack. (Includes: 3 samples, sunscreen lotion travel size + Macadamia Healing Oil Treatment)

enter below + good luck.

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  I also made this two year update collage- It has a few clips from my Austin trip. Enjoy! <3

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Texas Trip / Part 2

I've been putting off updating you guys for one main reason- I'm waiting on videos to be sent to me of my progress I made while in Texas. My trainer is super busy and just hasn't got around to getting them to me and I didn't want to keep pushing this update off any longer. Once I get those videos, I will post them on here for you to see the amazing things I did while I was at Project Walk.

When I left off, we had just celebrated Veronica's birthday. We spent about 5 days in her hometown before we headed back to Austin. I think that Austin was my favorite part of Texas. It was such
an experience and I love all the things we got to do. Here's a few photos of us out in Austin.

I really enjoyed going to South Congress Street- If you're ever around the area and have a change to make it there, go! It's a shopping strip basically but they have SO many cool little stores full of awesome things. I would have bought so much stuff for my little home if things were so pricey and I didn't have to fly it back.

The food places in Austin are crazy- so many good places to eat. We went to a Cuban restaurant and I was so nervous I wouldn't like a thing (I'm a picky eater- I mostly just eat chicken so new foods scare me a little)  but I ended up loving the sandwich I got. I also LOVED the fries, they were so crispy.

Sixth Street in Austin is known for the massive amount of bars (and drunk people) and we lived only a few blocks away from it all. I had never experienced a bar or club before then but I had so much fun! I honestly expected it to be a lot worse than what it was because I had been warned about the crime there. We went out a few times and always had a fun time but we did experience the weird parts of Austin as well (that old man I posted a photo of on my Instagram) but overall, I had a blast and loved meeting all the people.

Project Walk Austin is amazing and I highly recommend any of my SCI friends to check out their facility. I had such a fun time with my three trainers. The thing I loved most about going to such a small facility is the fact that I got one on one time with my trainers- I got to know them and they got to know me. That is so important to me. I also loved the fact that they allowed me to have a part in my workouts. I love free standing (like I am in the photo above) and they let me do it a lot. I was even able to stand ON MY OWN for 20 seconds. I was so happy. I will have more about my progress when I get those videos. I was so happy with how hard I was worked at PW.

Veronica and I tried getting out and doing as much as possible on our off days. One of the last things we did before we left Austin was check out San Antonio and the RiverWalk. I obviously had never been and Veronica loved it. The only depressing thing is how difficult it was to get DOWN to the RiverWalk. Stairs were all over but there were very little elevators down and the ones we did find were broke. It took us a while to get down there but we did it. We ate at Dicks and then went out a boat tour, which was a lot of fun.

My last night in Texas, I got to meet one of my OTHER internet best friend- Brittney of Like An Arrow. We had talked before I came to Texas about meeting up and getting matching tattoos and she ended up texting me a few days before I left and we got to meet up. She took me out to FreeB!rds (which I also want to call Fire Birds- no idea why) which was amazing and then we went to get tattoos. I threw around the idea of getting a Chi Rho symbol on our thumbs or maybe an arrow on our fingers. I loved the quote that inspired her blog name and I wanted something that meant something to both of us- so Brittney designed a mixture of the two and we got it on our thumbs. I am so happy with how it came out and I am so glad I got to meet her. I will have to go back and hang with her longer. She is such a wonderful lady.

I also got to spend a lot of time with Veronica's friends and family. I'm so glad they were so nice and welcoming to me. I spent Easter with them and got to hunt for eggs full of money or gift cards. I didn't win any gift cards BUT I did win 11$ and I had such a fun time hanging out with her family.

AAANNDD- I lost a tooth! I know I mentioned this in a video I did a little bit ago and I said I would tell the story even though it's not nearly as cool as you think. I have a partial and on that partial, I have two teeth. FOREVER ago, I was eating chicken wings and I broke my right tooth a little. I didn't think much about it. As time went on, it obviously got worse and when I was in Texas I knew it was going to fall out. I had called and called around and nobody wanted to fix it because they didn't make the partial.. so I let it go. Veronica and I went to see the movie "God's not Dead" and during that movie, my tooth just fell out into my mouth.  I still haven't got it fixed yet but I will now that I'm home. Eventually I'm going to have surgery to have implants put in because that's the smartest thing to do.

I'm sure I'm missing a lot of the cool stories but I think you get the point. I had a blast in Texas and can't wait to share the progress I was able to make. Thanks for allowing me to share my journey with you. God bless.
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Texas Update

I've been in Texas for about two weeks and I'm having a good time so far. I thought I would finally sit down and share some stories from my trip so far. I haven't actually wrote a personal post in a while and I feel kind of crappy about it.. so here one is.

 I'm renting a house in Texas with a friend I met through Instagram. She's in a chair too and our accidents happened about 9 days apart so it's nice to have someone who understands on a certain level. Veronica is from Texas so when we started talking about coming to therapy together she made some trips to tour some houses for us to rent. The most important thing was that the house was going to be accessible for us and she found a perfect one really close to our therapy. We had talked about extended our stay for a month but gave the landlord set dates for sure. Not very long after Veronica came to tour the house, we had contacted the landlord of House A and told her we weren't going to extend our stay ONLY to find out that the landlord of House A had rented out the house right under us and didn't even tell us. Veronica called around to EVERY rental house in the area and either it was booked for the dates or not accessible so we began to panic a little. Finally she emailed an renter who was able to get us in.

Getting into our house, we loved it. It is a bit small but what can you expect with two wheelchairs? Veronica noticed quickly that the bathroom door wasn't big enough to fit our chairs and we started to panic even more. We knew we didn't want to stay in a hotel for a month and we had already paid for this house- so we emailed the landlord and he came over right away. After saying he was sorry over and over again, he ended up paying for us to stay in a hotel for two nights while he made the doorway bigger. I know for me personally, I was so taken back by this. He has been so nice to us and I know many people wouldn't be like that.

Therapy is so wonderful. I've only been in therapy for a couple of sessions but my trainer already told me she's seeing improvement. During my eval, we tested my legs and found out I had even had change since November when I went to California. Starting out in California, my legs were basically jello, no movement or traces of it but during my eval last week my trainer felt movement all the way into my calf muscles. It's the smallest of progress but it makes me damn proud because I was told I wouldn't get anything back and I am. God is seriously so good to me.  Another cool thing I've started is the FES bike, which basically sends shocks to my leg muscles and causes them to fire on their own. My first day I was able to peddle on my own for 13 minutes and my second time I went about 10 minutes.  Small victories but they're still victories and I thank God for them.

I've met a lot of neat people while being here too. Veronica's friends and family have been so helpful and kind to me. Veronica turned 21 last weekend so I was able to go out with them and celebrate with her. Plus, Austin was MADE for me to be here. There's so much music and art around here. Not to mention, lots of bearded babes. I approve of the beards 100%.

If you want to see more photos from my trip- follow me on instagram (@heysabrinafaith) I've been posting there a lot. I've been sucking it up with my 365 project but I'm hoping I can catch up on that this week. I'm also sorry if this post seems rambled or anything- I'll try to share more stories as they happen. Thanks for all the prayers and support that has went into my recovery and this trip. God is truly blessing me.

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Honest To Blog: Words.

The other night I was talking to an old friend and he made a comment to me that really just kind of hit me the wrong way. I explained to him why it wasn't okay to say what he said and why it bothered me. I know he didn't mean to upset me with his words, he was honestly just trying to be encouraging and it really made me think about the things I hear so often that people mean to be encouraging but really just end up sounding rude.

Here's a few...

"You have SUCH a great attitude, you'll be walking in NO time!" / Unfortunately, my attitude isn't going to make my legs work.. it just makes the journey a bit more fun. (L:

"Just let me help you!" / I am very independent as a person. I always have been and I won't let my chair take that from me. Yes, I do need help doing things and I really appreciate people being kind BUT when I clearly say that I don't need help and people keep pushing to help me, it gets under my skin. 

"You running a marathon yet?" / I can understand if someone asked who may not actually know, but these "jokes" mostly come from my family.. and I know it's supposed to be funny, so normally I'll laugh it off.. but honestly making obvious jokes about my recovery really make me sassy. Clearly I'm still using a wheelchair.

"Just pray. God will heal you!" / My words are going to fail me here.. it's hard to explain why this bothers me. I guess it's because using the word "heal" makes it sound like my situation is a bad thing.. and I guess to most people it is seen as a bad thing.. but here's the truth about it....

I've been much happier since my wreck and I know that's hard for people to grasp and understand. Yes, I lost my ability to walk, to control my body and I have some limitations because of it. However, being injured has brought me closer to the people in my life who really matter, it's allowed me to break out of my shell and become the person I've always wanted to be. (Always a work in progress though). I've had so many amazing opportunities  given to me that would have never happened had I been able bodied. I've been able to share my story with so many people, write for MTV and so many other cool things. I've met some of my best friends because of our injuries and I get to travel to meet them and attend a wonderful therapy center. God really has blessed me so much through this and I hate that people only focus on "Well, you can't walk so you MUST be miserable."

.. because I'm not. I have bad days just like everyone does but I love where I am in life right now... and I honestly don't know if any of this would have happened had I not been injured.

I understand that some of you are going to read this and be like "wow, she's rude" and I guess I may be coming off a little strong but I want to explain why these things bother ME. They may not bother someone else and I understand that some people just have questions and are trying to be nice. I don't usually get offended or upset when people have questions because I want to educate them and I'm totally open about things but most of these things are said by people who know me personally and that's why I wanted to explain MY reasoning's here.

What are some things people have said to YOU trying to be helpful but really sounded rude?

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Bye Bye California.

My last day at Project Walk was today. 

I am not good with goodbyes one bit. I honestly was rushing out of the building so I wouldn't cry. The last five weeks have been awesome. I've met some amazing people who have pushed me hard + given me the motivation to work harder. It's so encouraging come out here + seeing so many people work their butts off. It is such a powerful experience and I'm so thankful I got to be a part of it. 

The whole experience itself was such a great thing for me. I learned I can do whatever I want, walking or not. I've been out here on my own for the last 4 weeks + I was able to do everything on my own. I've been so scared of being on my own again but I was able to work through the struggles and depend on myself again. I love it.

I'm so glad I got to come here. More updates later. I've got to pack to head home!

 

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Project Walk Update 002

Project Walk Update: 001

All about my trip to California and my first day at Project Walk.

♡ my twitter: @heysabrinafaith
♡ my instagram: @heysabrinafaith
♡ questions: http://ask.fm/heysabrina9

Spinal Cord Injury Awareness

As you're reading this, I'm on a plane heading out to bright and beautiful California for the journey of a lifetime. It just so happens that today is also the start of Spinal Cord Injury awareness month. I thought it'd be fun to add facts/answer your questions during the month. 

Today I wanted to introduce my new readers to my injury and about my personal story.

June 13, 2012 was the day I became paralyzed after being involved in a car accident. (you can read all about that here). My personal level of injury is T12. Basically what that means is that my back broke at that level and that's where my spinal cord is damaged. I'm paralyzed (without feeling/movement) from my hips down. I also have hypersensitive areas in my stomach. Feeling is more than movement right now and I have a CONSTANT burning in my legs. I've been told this means my nerves are waking back up. I've had this since about a month after my wreck. I'm on my way to California to attend Project Walk, a spinal cord injury rehab center. I've had a lot of small progress since my injury date and I have outlined it all in this blog, so take a peep around if you're curious.

what is a spinal cord injury(SCI)?

A SCI is just what it sounds like, an injury to the spinal cord. It's causes damages to the pathways from my brain to my legs. The brain can send signals but the legs never get them because there's something blocking them. My doctor explained it like water trying to get through a water hose that is pinched off + very little of the water comes through.

will you walk again?

Good question but I can't see the future. Your guess is as good as mine. Read more about this question here.

how does Mikal feel about your chair?

Mikal is such a great man. I can't even begin to explain how much I love that man. He is so supportive of me and is always there to cheer me up on my bad days. We talked about dating once before, give that a read. It's a good one. Brings a tear to my eye, he is too sweet.

how has your life changed?

My life has changed so much! I had to basically learn how to do everything over again like a baby. I had trouble sitting, bathing myself or doing simple tasks for myself. I don't think the changes in my life have been negative though, I totally feel I've grown up so much as a person. Sometimes I get upset that I had to grow up and give up things I want to do (like having to sell tickets to see my favorite band this October to save money for PW) but I know that when it's all said + done, I will look back and be thankful for this.

ask me questions here + email them to me. I will be answering your questions through the month.

I'll also be posting lots of Project Walk updates + videos.

I'm going to Project Walk!

I've already announced it on my twitter + my personal Facebook but I think it must be said on the blog.




I GOT ACCEPTED TO PROJECT WALK

I've been in contact with the people at Project Walk for a few weeks now + today I finally got word I've been accepted in their program. This is so huge for me + I'll explain why.

I've been paralyzed for a year and 3 months now (almost). I was recently let go from my old therapy center because he felt I was done progressing (untrue) and now I'm currently without therapy and any insurance coverage. 

Project Walk is a spinal cord injury specialized rehab center that will work to get me back to the most independent person I can be. I will be getting intensive therapy at this facility. Their goal is to get some function back in my lower half + hopefully to walk again. This is huge because that's my goals for myself. 

Project Walk will not be funded by insurance though. No insurance will cover their program because insurance companies don't see this kind of therapy as something I have to have. Insurance companies take the cheapest way out and that sadly means their end goal isn't to get me walking again, it's to get me back to a point where I can be independent. I guess that's the best way I can explain it. The point is that all the funding for my stay at Project Walk will be out of my own pocket. I've set up some events on Facebook for fundraisers + I would love if you want to help. I will be booking a flight as soon as I can and I will be staying out of state while I receive treatment. I will be out there for four weeks as it looks right now but I could end up staying longer. If you don't have the money to support me financially, that's okay. Keep me in your prayers because this is a HUGE step for me.

I have spent most of the day crying happy tears and just thanking God for this wonderful chance to better myself. It's so amazing how much God has blessed me and shown how much He loves me. I am such a lucky lady. God is so good.



This video clip explains so much better what Project Walk is and how it can help me.
If you have any questions, leave them below or email me. (sabrinatakespictures@gmail) 
and of course, I will be blogging and vlogging about the whole experience so stay along for the ride.

God Bless. 

Paralyzed Diaries: A Look Back

I know this may be a little sad to see from some people, but I know I have a lot of new readers and I wanted to share some of these photos from my wreck. My uncle took pictures of my blazer after it had been towed away from my accident scene. I was in the hospital and I wanted to see pictures of it. I know a lot of people say it's not good to expose things like that but I wanted to see. Kind of for closure and more so because I didn't realize how serious things were.

 I look back at this and see how lucky and blessed I really am. The roof barely missed caving in and smashing my head.. this right here helped save my life. God is so good.

 There's something Disney Princess in my car.. and I don't know what. I am sure it was for my niece but I just thought it was funny you can see it.

 This is a picture of where I was transferred from an ambulance to a Life Flight helicopter. They transferred me in a soccer field. At this point, I was in shock and they had been putting a lot of pain medicine in me and I remember being like "Did you guys pick the bumpiest field to transfer me in? Hello.. I just broke my back." I felt so sassy. Of course you can't see me here, whoever that is was someone running to help get me transferred.

I can't believe it's been a year and two months since I became wheelchair dependent. I look back at these photos and realize how much God loves me and how blessed I am to still be alive today. It's actually a good thing to see these photos and realize I overcame something and that this is just the start of amazing things God has planned for me.

If you want to read about my wreck, you can view this post. I wrote it while I was still in the hospital, it has all the details.

I have some really exciting news that I hope to be sharing soon about my injury but I don't want to jinx myself. If you could, please send positive vibes/prayers my way because this is huge for me. Pray that Gods will be done.. He has my back.

also, I just want to let you guys know that all the ads I sale on this blog and all the things I sale from my blog sale will help go towards therapy.

AND good news, I got a new laptop and I'm using it right now. I have to wait to get all my files transferred but I will be back to working very soon. Thanks for being so patient.

Exciting News.

*I usually post music stuff on Monday but the band I'm interviewing has replied to all my questions so that will have to wait. sorry kiddos. I have something else exciting for you.*

I look a mess but I don't care because I'm standing.

My mom had a walker around the house + I told her I wanted to try standing with it. I have no control over my legs at all, so my knees have to be blocked. I tried once + didn't make it. After my mom went to sleep, I knew I wanted to try again because I knew I could do it, so I went next to my bed + I stood. My knees aren't really blocked + my weight is all in my arms. I can put a little bit of weight through my legs but just a little.

God is so good + I can't express how great it felt to stand. It may not seem like much but this is huge for me. Glory be to God.

Paralyzed Diaries: Happy With Life.

 

 (via)

 I've been watching Push Girls on Netflix and it inspired me to write this post today. On the show- one of the girls talks about how her mom isn't really understanding of the fact that you can be in a wheelchair + still be happy with life. I honestly feel that a lot of people feel this way- one of the MANY misunderstandings about "disabled" people.

I've been in a chair for almost a year now and I started sharing my story online so much to (hopefully) help get rid of the negative stereotypes that come along with being "disabled". As I get more involved into the community- I realize that no matter what I try to say or do, I just can't change the way some think. I hope that for those of who that come here eager to learn and understand my obstacles as a "disabled" person, you will also start to see things from the point of view of someone who has been injured. I sometimes feel that I am too negative or come across like I'm trying to have the "pity me" attitude- but that's not it at all. Don't feel sorry for me. Use my story, my struggles and my heartaches to learn. Don't make the mistakes I have made.

I remember talking to one of my spinal cord injury friends and they told me "being paralyzed isn't how life is supposed to be lived" + I guess in a way that's true. It isn't ideal but many suffer from much worse. That's what I always tell myself. I know that even people who are able bodied have obstacles they have to face. Everyone has their own battle to fight and they are all different. My life has changed because of my wheelchair but I am MUCH happier now than I was 11 months ago. I'm in a much better place and I've learned so much about myself and life in general.

Life is about what you make it + I refuse to let my wheelchair/spinal cord injury stop me. I have bad days but so does everyone else. I honestly feel that I am doing more now because of my wheelchair than I would have ever done as an able bodied person and I'm so thankful for that.


This was written at 3 in the morning- sorry if there are some errors. If there is anything you're curious about dealing with spinal cord injuries/paralysis, please email me.