The Walking Quadriplegic

About the Book

The Walking Quadriplegic: Defeating Paralysis is a first person account of the trauma associated with becoming a quadriplegic, living with the affliction, and then defying the odds to move normally once more. I held nothing back in describing the emotional and physical metaphoric blanket that binds a quadriplegic in every aspect of their lives. The account describes, as I remember it, an accident that I sustained when I was nineteen years old. In the blink of an eye, I went from a sturdy first year college student to an invalid that could only move the small muscles in his face. Numerous times, the surgeons confided in me that I would die. But if I lived, all voluntary control below my neck would cease to exist. One solid month passed and their predictions rang true; I remained a complete quadriplegic. Miraculously, small portions of my body grudgingly returned. Muscles that were once dormant, slowly regained movement. Within three months, and after a long rehabilitation effort, I was able to walk out of the hospital and on my own two feet! All predictions about my future were wrong. I was given a second chance! My goal for the book is to allow the reader to experience the horror of breaking one’s neck, from the actual incident through the rehabilitation process. Nothing can prepare someone for this level of devastation. But through reading this experience, a person can better understand the desperation felt by a quadriplegic, the sacrifice of a rehabilitation patient, and blissful joy of reaching your ultimate goal! The Walking Quadriplegic: Defeating Paralysis is as close to the experience as I could achieve.

About the Author

Douglass John Mack survived the accident that changed his life forever on that unforgettable night in November, 1989. Following a lengthy hospital stay, he continued to work tirelessly in the months following his release from the hospital to improve strength and dexterity to his once dormant muscles. Ten months after hearing that he would never walk again, Doug returned to college and he did it on his own two feet! After graduating four years later, he began his career in the environmental field. He married the love of his life and settled down to raise a family. Julie and Doug live in Austin, Texas, and recently became the proud parents of a baby boy.