very difficult transition for me especially still being so new to spinal cord injury . I had just started to meet friends in the SCI community in Southern California when I decided to move to Canada . In retrospect I should have taken more time to work through some things , but hindsight is 20 / 20 . In the end things didn ’ t work out with my ex-wife , but we remain very close . I have since met my current girlfriend and we ’ ve been together for the past two and a half years . I look forward to many more with her .
It took many years for me to have a sense of identity again after my crash and to feel confident with who I was as a person . During those first five or so years of living in Vancouver , I didn ’ t play or compete in any sport . It was the longest I ’ d ever gone in my entire life of not competing . It wasn ’ t until I started to play wheelchair tennis that I started to feel like me again . I played tennis full time for about five years and ended up winning a singles and doubles Canadian Championship . From there I had started playing a bit of basketball . I didn ’ t realize how much I missed playing on a team . I trained hard and tried out for the National team in 2018 and made the team . Ever since then I ’ ve played for the National team and was part of the 2019 ParaPan Am and the 2022 Commonwealth gold medal teams and went to my first Paralympics in Tokyo .
When I was in the hospital after my crash , my mom used to always tell me that things happen for a reason . I never believed her until years and years later . It wasn ’ t until I
started playing tennis and then basketball that I really got it . This is exactly where I ’ m supposed to be . This injury has taught me patience and more patience . It ’ s opened opportunities for me that I never thought I ’ d have , and I want to take it all in . I ’ m not
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