It was five years ago on a beautiful May afternoon when I received a phone call that would change my life.  My daughter was at a friend’s end of the year swim party and I was told I needed to hurry because she had fallen off a swing and hurt her head.  I knew this time it was different.  I could just sense it.  I hurried to the friend’s home to find it swarming with kids, neighbors, and paramedics.  Kendra had gotten onto a hammock with four friends and the brick column holding up the hammock had collapsed under their weight.  The bricks came raining down on top of the girls and smashed Kendra’s spinal cord at C-6.  She was instantly paralyzed and and now has quadriplegia.  This means she has no use of her hands and no use or feeling of her body below her collar bone.  She struggled night and day to hang on to life for the first month.  We didn’t know if she would make it.  We would listen intently to the monitors and rush for help when her oxygen level would get too low.  It was so hard to imagine our star athlete now was not even able to lift her head off her pillow. We would say the alphabet and she would blink when we got to the letter she wanted.  What a blessing it was to know that her mind was still good.  With her blinks, she would beg us, “Since I have been so good? Can I have a Jamba Juice?”  And we would have to say not yet, again…. Life really can change in a minute.  Each breath was a miracle.  Each swallow of food became a blessing.  The wonder was how everything came into place to turn a tragedy into a new life and a new adventure.  Has it been hard?  Yes, very.  It is all the little miracles that have turned our worst nightmare into an inspiring story.  We give thanks to our Father in Heaven and to the many heroes at Primary Children’s Hospital. Our neighborhood, school, church and the City of Riverton came to our aid.  We were fortunate to have had a outpouring of love and support to make our bathroom accessible, pay for an expensive stand up wheelchair, a 5 K to help pay for a modified van with a lift.  They also brought in meals for months and took care of our children (we have 3 younger daughters,) and drove me back and forth to the hospital when I was too overcome with grief to drive. This has been one amazing journey.

After three years of picking up my daughter Kendra multiple times a day to transfer her from bed to chair and vice versa, my back finally went out.  It hurt constantly and I finally was feeling the effects of heavy lifting/caregiving. My friend, Kevin John at Utah Center for Assisted Technology had warned me, ” You better take care of yourself or you will be disabled yourself.”  He had seen this happen too many times with other parents in my situation. I knew I had to do something else, I was 39 with three other healthy children to raise.  I could see how I was disabling myself with all the lifting.  A friend of mine, April Bauer, showed me the SureHands Lift video on Youtube.  I got excited, because here was a video of a lady with quadriplegia using the lift to move herself independently from bed to her wheelchair.  I found out that Accessible Systems of Utah was the distributor in Utah and called to have them bring out the lift to our home. My daughter tried it and in a few minutes she was able to figure out how to use it. I found grants to fund the SureHands Lift and I saved my back. Now two years later I market this product and lots of other options for home modifications for people with disabilities and seniors. It is always free to have us come out and do a home evaluation.  If you know someone who is struggling getting around their home independently or someone who needs a friend, give me a call/text 3852129071. It was such an honor to meet RUN’s Co-Founder Gina Szajnuk at the National Ability Center Barn Party. She thought I may be able to help some of the RUN Parents. It would be an honor to share what I know with any of you who may be in need of support.  I hated to admit that I was suffering from the heavy toll of caregiving, but I was suffering.  It was so nice to be able to take the physical load off my back, so that I could be a better, less cranky caregiver/parent to my children.

Here is a gift to the RUN parents:  The Accessible Systems Home Modification Guide and a coupon for $100 off a stairlift that never expires.  For the $100 coupon,please email Amy directly at amym@accessiblemed.com

Update on Kendra:

Kendra just finished her first year at BYU as a freshman, living in the dorms with minimal assistance.  She loves serving and is vice president of the Student Advisory Council (SAC) at BYU. She is called on to speak to many different groups and loves to encourage others to reach for the stars.  She plays wheelchair rugby, cart skis at Snowbird, and loves Paragliding with Project Airtime at the point of the mountain. Kendrajean17@gmail.com

Amy Muller  | Marketing Ambassador Accessible Systemsamym@accessiblemed.com> Cell:(385)-212-9071 Office 801-302-5781