I actually thought I'd never paint again. Months after earning a fine arts degree from Central Missouri State University, a skiing accident paralyzed me from the neck down. Instantly, I became a quadriplegic. Doctors gave me little hope to ever walk, write or paint again.
With perseverance, I chose to embrace this transforming moment deciding to push on, to overcome and live this life to the fullest. We all hurt, we all fall down, but it's how we accept what life gives us and how gracefully we put it back together that shows us whom we truly are. The accident will not define me. Fast forward 20 years, something was missing—my art. There had to be more to life than rehabilitation. I needed an outlet, a way to express myself, to get out of my head and to create.
Painting forces me to use my non-dominant left hand. Amazingly, I can see the same expressive line that I had witnessed with my right all those years before. My art filled me with renewed hope, desire, passion and connection; which has helped me come full circle in my healing. Painting silences my struggles and I am free from the binding constraints that have restricted my body. I continue to love life, staying connected and finding peace.
