At the age of 14, Becky left behind her ordinary teenage-life, when a road trip to the local neighbour-town Wilmot in South Dakota took a cruel twist of fate. A car accident had Becky fly out the sunroof of the car and the result was devastating: Becky was paralyzed from the waist down.
Learning to use a bathroom in a new way
Being paralysed and bound to a wheelchair can be challenging enough, but needing to learn how to go the bathroom again and in a whole different way - on top of all the other changes the body is going through - was overwhelming to Becky:“You're doing it on your body, which you can't even feel. You don't even know where the different body parts are anymore, because you can't feel your bottom. It was a lot, especially at the age of 15 when you're embarrassed about everything. Your body is changing, you don't want to talk to anybody about this stuff. You just want to be private.”
Nevertheless, learning to manage a bowel routine and building a routine was a requirement for Becky, before being discharged:“It was the most disgusting thing. It was something very intimate to me and something very private, but it was a checkbox I needed to check before they discharged me.”
Finding the right treatment
Although Becky had a solution to empty her bowel when she was discharged, it would only last for a while. During the years after her accident Becky tried it all. Suppositories, laxatives, enemas and while some solutions would work for a while, nothing ever had a long-lasting effect and the constant worry and occasional accidents became a part of Becky’s everyday life:“The oral laxatives were unpredictable, and I never knew when they were going to kick in. I didn't have disastrous moments but there was one time in my brother’s car, one time on a backrest table during an X-ray and several times at work. You're kind of hopeless and powerless when these accidents happen. It was a headache and a frequent topic of conversation with my doctor.”
But one day, Becky received a call from her doctor that will forever stand out in her mind. He was calling to tell her about a new TAI system:“It was a call of hope. Even though he couldn't promise me any miracle with Peristeen®, I was so elated and so excited that the doctor had to calm me down. If I had one wish, it wouldn't be to walk again, it would be to have my bowel control, so getting a lasting solution would be a huge for me.”
Since starting on the Peristeen system, Becky has gone from irrigating her bowels every day to every other day and haven’t had an accident in months:“It’s amazing. My routine has freed up a whole day. I had a few accidents in the beginning when finding and getting used to my routine, but now I haven’t had one in months”.
Who am I now?
Growing up, Becky was a dedicated athlete. At the time of her accident, Becky loved basketball and her biggest dream was to be a basketball player, so during the off-season she took up every sport she could think of to stay in shape; volleyball, swimming and running track.
When Becky woke up in the hospital bed, everything she had ever hoped for her future seemed unattainable. Who was she now without her athletic identity?
“When I was injured, a lot of my identity was taken from me because I was a huge athlete. I had to figure out in the years after that who Becky was again. So, I struggled with my identity for a while until I found out how to think of myself differently and embrace all the things I could still do”.
Coming to terms with being in a wheelchair was difficult for Becky, but her optimistic outlook on life propelled her forward. She started to dedicate more time to her education and being a good student – because as Becky argued:“The bad things in your life can make you a bitter person or a better person. It's up to you to figure it out. I may not have had my legs, but I had my mind”.
A few years later, Becky graduated with honours. She later stepped into the financial world, where she works as a manager in a credit union today.
Returning to what she loves
While getting used to her new life as a paraplegic, Becky slowly got back into doing sports.
Over time, she went back to the swimming pool, got a certified scuba diving licence, started mono-skiing and joined a handcycling club. With her transanal irrigation system, she now has more control over her bowel, which helps her plan her exercise. Her best advice is to set up goals and expectations to yourself:“You got to push yourself, don't give up. Baby steps are okay but have goals. My family were always supportive, loving and wanting to be there for me, but they also pushed me mentally. One of the questions I got from one of my sisters after the accident, when I was still in rehab at the hospital was, if I could still do the dishes. They weren't letting me off the hook. And it did push me to be better person, be a better student, be a better athlete, which was a gift.”
