My Last Step Backward

Description

After showcasing her talent as the lead in her high schools production of Grease, Tasha Schuh began to dream of a career in theater. No one knew that the stage itself would steal her dreamand almost her lifeduring a rehearsal for the next big show. Just days before her opening night performance in The Wizard of Oz, sixteen-year-old Tasha took one step backward and fell sixteen feet through a trap door. On that day, Nov. 11, 1997, she landed on the concrete floor of the historic Sheldon Theater, breaking her neck, crushing her spinal cord, and fracturing her skull. She would never walk again. For the next three days, Tasha prepared for a surgery that would at best leave her a C-5 quadriplegic. Post-op complications turned Tashas struggle and ultimate triumph into an unbelievable journey. From loss and grief to self-discovery and achievement, Tashas faith, resilience, and honesty have allowed her to leave the old Tasha behind while she confronts the new Tashas life from a state of the art wheelchair. Discover Tashas remarkable spirit in My Last Step Backward, a poignant memoir that seeks to inspire you to welcome adversity and face your own trap door of opportunity.

Sujets

• Lettres et linguistique

Informations

• Publié par: Inspiring Voices
• Date de parution: 20 novembre 2012
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781462404179
• Langue: English

Extrait

My Last Step Backward
 
 
Tasha Schuh
 
 


Copyright © 2012 Tasha Schuh
 
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the publisher except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.
 
 
Inspiring Voices books may be ordered through booksellers or by contacting:
 
Inspiring Voices
1663 Liberty Drive
Bloomington, IN 47403
www.inspiringvoices.com
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Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.
 
Cover photo: Becky Beissel
 
ISBN: 978-1-4624-0417-9 (e)
ISBN: 978-1-4624-0418-6 (sc)
 
Library of Congress Control Number: 2012921860
 
 
Inspiring Voices rev. date: 11/16/2012
Contents
Acknowledgements:
Prologue
Introduction:       My Story
Chapter 1      A Step Backward
Chapter 2      Before the Trapdoor
Chapter 3      Eat, Pray, Act
Chapter 4      Time, Place, and Motion
Chapter 5      The Wizards of Rochester
Chapter 6      The New Meaning of Thanksgiving
Chapter 7      Gifts of Heart and Courage
Chapter 8      Chair Wars and Other Rehab Battles
Chapter 9      Stuffing It
Chapter 10      Turn and Face the Change
Chapter 11      Field-Trip Frenzy
Chapter 12      A Toaster Ride to Prom
Chapter 13      Tasha’s Life: Instructions Not Included
Chapter 14      Cute Boys in Wheelchairs
Chapter 15      The Loneliness of Dependency
Chapter 16      Liability Limbo
Chapter 17      Driving Miss Tasha
Chapter 18      Would the Real Tasha Schuh Please Stand Up?
Chapter 19      Life, Love, and the Gingerbread Man
Chapter 20      More Amazing Grace
Chapter 21      There’s No Place Like Home
Chapter 22      The Trapdoor of Opportunity
Epilogue
Bibliography
 
 
Dedication:
To Mom, Dad, Angie and Ryan… for your never ending support and sacrifice that has helped me become who I am today.
 
Acknowledgements:
There are certain people that I have to thank for their support throughout this project. Without them, this book would not exist.
To all of my wonderful and amazing friends—you know who you are. I wish I could list you all by name because you all mean so much to me. You have been here for me, whether I met you before or after my accident. You have believed in me, encouraged me, made me laugh, supported me in difficult decisions, and have helped me more than you’ll ever know.
Nancy Dumke, who directed me to finally start this project—thank you for your perseverance in knowing that this book needed to get done; the medical staff from Mayo Clinic, who saved my life and helped me believe that I could overcome; Jan Pavloski, who has spent hours upon hours, sacrificing so much in putting this book together. Thank you for using your amazing writing abilities and creativity to guide this to completion. Your patience and your fun-loving attitude made this project so much fun to work on and would've never happened without you; Cassandra Lokker, whose professionalism influenced me from start to finish; my caregivers, whose trust and devotion I will cherish forever; to Doug, who had the courage to jump on board my journey and has made my life so wonderful— I am so excited for our future; my nieces and nephews who remind me every day how much I would have missed had I not lived; you bring so much joy to my life—I hope my success inspires you when you are faced with adversity.
 
Finally, with heartfelt gratitude, I lift this project up to God who orchestrated this, for without Him and His great faithfulness, I would not be where I am today.
Prologue
“Well life has a funny way of sneaking up on you
When you think everything's okay and everything's going right
And life has a funny way of helping you out when
You think everything's gone wrong … isn’t it ironic.”
 
As much as I like Alanis Morissette’s classic anthem on irony, I can’t help but think that rain on your wedding day is just plain bad luck. The weather is always a fifty-fifty thing, right? A bride half expects a cloudburst.
Or when your bus fare is paid and you immediately find an acquaintance with a car soon departing for your side of the city. Bad timing? Sure. Ironic … not really.
Here’s irony: When people meet me for the first time, they immediately focus on what I can’t do. At first glance, I am defined by my losses—the loss of my limbs … the loss of athletics … the loss of an acting career … the loss of dreams. What they don’t see is that loss is the last word I would use to define my life. Loss couldn’t be further from the truth.
Ironically, my life is defined by what I have gained from becoming quadriplegic. My life is richer because I have endured such drastic change. My life was saved by a disaster. I have learned that a greater power guides my destiny. And I have taken my last step backward.
 
 
Introduction: My Story
“What happened to you?”
“I was in an accident. I got hurt.”
“What’s this for?”
The little girl points to one of my chair’s many control buttons.
“And what’s this?”
I explain another feature of my chair that fascinates her so.
Ha, ha, ha. The adults around me—I’m guessing one is a parent of this girl—laugh at her curious yet bold questions. I admit, she’s cute. And it’s easier when a child is not afraid of me. So many are.
But I’m here to watch Ryan’s game. Ryan, the football coach. Ryan, one of my closest friends from college. I couldn’t wait to get situated in the stands, surrounded by people who share one thing—we all love Ryan and want him to have an amazing career as a coach. Football is his passion. Family and friends from all over have come to this game, meeting in one section, in hopes that Ryan’s team will prove he’s a worthy head coach.
Yet one little girl—I’d guess four or five years old—draws the attention away from Ryan’s game and brings it all to me. Frankly, I am ready for this. I have become accustomed to telling my story, or at least part of it, every time I meet new people.
“How did you get hurt,” one of the adults asks. I notice sincere and attentive looks from everyone but the little girl who is counting the number of bubble buttons on my chair’s control pad.
This is my cue to start sharing my story. I have learned to be grateful for curious children who give me permission to break the ice so we can focus on more than me. So I explain. Just a little bit. Just enough to ease the natural concern that comes from viewing all six-foot-two of me in a chair that weighs as much as a Prius.
“I was in a theater accident.”
“A theater accident?!”
“Yes, I know. Crazy, isn’t it. A theater accident.”
“Oh, my gosh, that’s awful. You poor thing. I remember when …”
Pity … which I could do without. But the ice has been broken. The sharing begins, because everyone has a story.
Yes, I mean everyone has a story. Whenever I tell my story, which I do all the time—visiting a local classroom, dealing with curious customers in restaurants, presenting as a paid professional at a national seminar—people quickly begin to share. Whatever detail I start with—the accident, the long hospital stay, learning to drive my modified van—people can relate. I hear lots of stories.
I could be annoyed by this. I could think, “Come on, you didn’t survive a sixteen-foot fall to concrete, or endure a coma for eight days with a fever peaking at 108 degrees, or learn to drive to the Mall of America using only the hinge of your right wrist.” I could justifiably be irritated each time my story is cut off prematurely. But I’m not. Instead, I am amazed.
I am amazed that so many people can relate to how a split second, a quick movement—in my case, a step backward—could alter the course of a life forever. I am awed and saddened by the endless tales of tragedy I invite by being so open about my own.
Early on I believed that my step backward was unique, one of a kind. I was one of the few with a “story” to tell that might move others to reflect on their own good fortune, their own personal blessings that make their lives seem charmed when compared to my accident. I really thought my story was unrivaled, that talent and youth and optimism like mine had never been struck down so abruptly. But as I am once again interrupted— this time by a kind elderly couple in the parking lot of Woodbury Lakes Shopping Center—I realize this couldn’t be further from the truth.
“Yes, a theater accident,” I reply with sincere appreciation that others care. My appearance in a wheelchair, especially when I emerge from my van alone, triggers the most compassionate response in people.
So for all who have stories to share, for all who know what it is like when the life you expect is stopped short, here is my story in full.
 
 
 
Chapter 1 A Step Backward
The story I am about to tell you is the true story of my life—of Natasha Lea Schuh, born on December 19, 1980. Though my story could start on that day, this written record begins with Tuesday, November 11, 1997. On this date, the new Tasha Schuh was born. The Tasha Schuh who will never again stand over six feet tall. The Tasha Schuh who panics at the s