Features
^^glackam^ Print
Pg. 5
Accident teaches Nielson to slow down, enjoy life
by Melissa Baughman
Staff Writer
Wendy Nielson, a Clackamas
student and athlete, was recently
involved in a disastrous skiing
accident which changed her life
forever.
Nielson and some friends
from work set out on what they
hoped would be a fun-filled day
on the slopes of ML Hood Mead­
ows, March 1. Unfortunately, the
day ended in tragedy.
The five of them had stopped
on one of the runs to taken break.
They started down thè hill again
and they all saw a jump in front of
them. Nielson’s friends wentfirst,
but they all opted not to jump
because they all thoughtthè jump
was too big. From where Nielson
was, however, the jump didn’t
look that big. Her friends asked
her if she was really going to
jump it.
“it doesn’t look that big,” she
said with a laugh.
Just as those words left her
mouth, Nielson saw exactly how-
big the jump really was, but she
was going too fast to stop.
< < .“Uiit a big dip first and then
the jump was just a sheet of ice,”
she explained.
Nielson’s legs went over her
head. She flew 10 feet up in the
air and 20 to 30 feet out. She
came down straight on her back,
then rolled down the hill another
30 feet
“My friends thought I was
dead,” she said. “Onepersonsaid
I looked like the skier on the
Wide Worid of Sports when they
show the agony of defeat”
Nielson had been skiing for
about three years before the acci­
dent and considers herself to be
an intermediate skier.
“If I were a better skier, I
would have probably been fine,”
sheexplained. “Itwasjustafreak
accident.”
The dreadful accident
crushed her lumbar vertebrate, or
theL-1. The L-l is the first of the
lower back vertebrates. As a
result of the fall, her T-12 came
"My friends thought
I was dead. One
person said I
looked like the
skier on the Wide
World of Sports
when they show the
agony of defeat.”
down on the L-l, leaving it
crushed. She also suffered spinal
cord injuries.
The accident left Nielson
paralyzed from her hip bones
down. Shecanfeela“hot,prickly
sensation” on her top and inner
thighs, which is a goodsign. Past
her knees, though, she has no
feeling at all.
After being airlifted to
Emmanuel Hospital by Life
Flight, and spending a day in the
Intensive Care Unit, Nielson un­
derwent a crucial five-hour sur­
gery. During the surgery, doctors
took a bone-graph from the right
side of her pelvis. Theyputpieces
of bone in between seven of
Wendy’s vertebrates, making it
all one piece. They also put two
rods, which wereboth a foot long,
in her back to stabilize it The
surgery left a scar from below her
lower back all the way up to her
shoulders.
A few weeks later, doctors
discovered that the bone was still
pushing on her spinal cord. On
April 1, Nielson had to go in for
surgery once again. First, they
occupational therapy everyday.
“The reason I’m here is to
learn how to become indepen­
dent,” she said. “I’m getting a lot
stronger,”
During her therapy, Nielson
lifts weights, swims and learns to
take care of herself in a home
environment. She said that she
spends most other time working
on transfers, the act of getting in
and out of her wheel chair, which
requires a . lot of upper-body
she is not always so happy.
She explained that she will
laugh for two hours straight and
then at a moment’s notice, she
will break down in tears.
“Anytime anyone has a loss
like this, they will go through
different stages... grief, anger,”
she said/ “But my life is too
short to be depressed all the
time, especially since I do have
all my upper-body strength.”
Nielson is very thankful that
have to use what you have and I
have my upper-body strength and
my mind.
“I think my sense of humor
helps out a lot,” Nielson said.
“Laughing is therapeutic, I guess.”
One aspect she has been sur­
prised by, but tries to keep a Sense
of humor about, is the way society
sees people in wheelchairs.
“People look at you and think
you are mentally disabled as well
as physically disabled,” she said
with a laugh. “I could get mad, but
it’s not going to do me any good.
People just get nervous around me.
They are like, ‘Oh my God, here
comes someone in a wheelchair! ’ ”
Despite the constant staring
that society thrusts on Nielson each
day, the thing that bothers her most
is her lack of independence.
Things that she used to take for
granted, such as using an auto­
matic teller machine or just getting
dressed, has become a chore.
"People I haven't
talked to in 10
years have called
me. A lot of
churches have
had prayer chains.
It has made me
realize that there
are a lot of good
people out there."
For CCC student Wendy Nielson, a fun-filied day at Mt. Hood Meadows turned tragic. In
a "freak” skiing accident, Nielson suffered spinal cord injuries, leaving her paralyzed
below the knees.
took out the 10th rib on her left
side. Next, they “fished through”
her insides to get to the bone
causing the problem. They took
the bone out and replaced it with
the rib. The surgery was a suc­
cess, but once again, Nielson suf­
fered scarring.
“It looks like a road map has
been drawn all over my body, but
the scars are healing up nicely,”
she said. “They got it all cleaned
up in there. Now it’s just a wait-
and-see game. They’re not sure if
my nerves were killed.”
If Nielson does experience
any recovery, it will most likely
happen within the next two years.
For now,she resides at Emmanuel
Hospital’sRehabilitation Center,
or “hotel rehab,” as she calls it.
She goes through physical and
strength.
Nielson was just finishing up
at Clackamas Community Col­
lege when the accident happened.
She was carrying 12 credits dur­
ing Winter Term and only had
three credits to take Spring Term
to complete her transfer degree.
“It was nice because the
teachers gave me incompletes for
WinterTerm sothatlcangoback
and make them up,” she said.
Nielson hopes to transfer to
Portland State University and
major in marketing and minor in
psychology.
“My school plans haven’t
changed,” she explained. “They
have just been delayed.” f
Although Nielson tries to
remain upbeat about her situa­
tion, she is the first to admit that
she has a good support system
in her loved ones.
“My family and friends
have been wonderful,” she ex­
claimed. “There are a lot of
people here in a lot worse con­
dition than me and they are all
alone.
“People I haven’t talked to
in 10 years have called me. A
lot of churches have had prayer
chains. It has made me realize
that there are a lot of good people
out there,” Nielson added.
During the time she has
spent in rehabilitation, she has
put her entire situation in per­
spective.
“Being here makes you re­
alize how lucky you are and
makes you focus on the things
you have,’’sheexplained. “You
She said that it is amazing how
much energy it takes to get ready in
the morning. By the time she has
gotten dressed and done her hair
and make-up, she’s ready to go
back to bed.
“I get frustrated. I’m used to
being independent,” she said. “It’s
just going to take some time. I
figure what I lack in mobility I
make up in personality.”
Nielsonisalittlenervousabout
going home. She said that there are
a lot of obstacles to overcome in
the real world, whereas in the
hospital, everyone is trained and
knows how to help.
Although Nielson has obvi­
ously been through a lot, she seems
to have everything in her life to­
gether. She truly believes that
there was a reason for her accident.
“Someone was trying to tell
me to slow down and enjoy life,”
Nielson concluded.
• •
STUDENT
SPECIAL
LARGE PIZZA
MEDIUM PRICE
Makin' it Great!
650-8200
1277 Molalla Ave.
Oregon City, Oregon
Buy any Large Pizza
and pay the price of
a Medium with the
same number of
toppings
PLEASE MENTION SPECIAL WHEN ORDERING
GOOD THRU 2-23-93
• •
Do you have •
high energy? Z
Are you •
responsible? •
IfsoPIZZA :
HUT has a job •
for you!
•
- Flexible hours
•
- Variable Pay Scale
•
- Restaurant
•
Experience Preferred *
MUST SHOW VAUD STUDENT BODY CARD
11am-11pm Sun. thru Thur.
11am-12am Fri. and Sat.
We deliver to the CCC campus
and surrounding area
Apply in person at
•
PIZZAHUT
*
1277Molalla Ave
•
Oregon City
9