An accident: pt 1

I remember my accident quite clearly.
In denial I had the utmost confidence that I would make a full recovery if I did all that I could. At first that meant intensive physio, doctors appointments and prescription medicine to deal with the nerve (or phantom) pain. I remember the months afterward, dealing with the massive implications of the 'worst case' scenario, that being I would loose the use of my arm. Perhaps on the surface this doesn't sound so bad, its only an arm but then take into account all the daily activities people take for granted having two hands.
My first realization was that after just qualifying as an electrician, I may not be able to do my job. As I enjoyed learning it only made sense that I could use this as an opportunity to further my study in electrical.
Through the course of the next six months I encountered numerous problems for example, how do I open a jar, how do I put my socks on, how do I butter bread, cut food and the list goes on. At first I was given tools to aid in my daily tasks but as time has gone by I've developed my own way of managing, this was the first step of me understanding the unique capabilities of the human body and adapting to your circumstances. I had to relearn everything and the more I relied on my one hand the easier it become. Now whenever I encounter such a problem I solve it almost unconsciously. For me I might have lost the use of my hand but I have gained the use of my mouth and two feet, something Im sure most people have never considered using the way I do.
The physio set me a number of exercises and I developed my own as I continued on my path of rehab. Initially my rehab occupied around 5 hours a day, it was a full time commitment and included downloading information and researching my injury. I felt that I needed to understand exactly what was happening within my body and to explore all possible treatments. At this stage it was important for me to stay focused and do everything I could to maximize my recovery. One of my doctors proclaimed that this was a marathon and not a race.
I set myself this massive goal of finding a way to return function to my arm which took a huge amount of effort. Looking back now I can see that the situation I was in taught me the level of dedication required to be successful and perhaps gave me the will power to succeed were previously I would have given up failed.