Toddler SCI-PTSD

Last weekend the weather was exceptionally nice, sunny with highs in the mid seventies. For many Quads like myself their inability to regulate their body temperature and low blood flow, we can’t wait for this type if weather. Well, I guess anybody welcomes this type of weather but for us it makes the day much better because we are not struggling to keep warm. Anyway, I’m getting off on a tangent, let me reel it back in. I think this nice weather caused my son Jaxon to have some PTSD moments about my accident. It’s almost like the sun and the warmth reminded him of our time before the accident and the accident itself.  The whole weekend he was not like his normal well behaved self. He was not listening at all and having melt downs over everything. Normally, I would have chalked this behavior up to being an almost 4 year old little boy with a bad case of spring fever but it wasn’t just bad behavior. Jaxon kept bringing up stuff about how I did this and that when I wasn’t in the chair he even explain how I could avoided the accident. He said that if I could swim better I wouldn’t have gotten hurt and that I needed to take a swim class like him. When I tried to explain it was just an accident and that I was actually a pretty good swimmer he told me that I need to tuck my head down like so, and proceed to demonstrate the life saving technique (LOL).  My wife also told me he broke down about me getting out of the chair. He asked her if I would ever get out of the wheelchair an not wanting to lie to him she said she didn’t know. She tried explain we hope and pray that he does but that she can not promise. He flipped out crying and kept telling her she was wrong and that I would get out.  Later on she had a talk with him about how we still do fun stuff and we are all happy wether I’m in the chair or not which he seemed to accept.   Hopefully, this summer we can get  back to the beach some how which may help. The good thing is he is not afraid of water because he still loves going to swim class and he still asks to go to the beach. I’m surprised at his age he remembers so much and is so perceptive, I mean he was only 2 when my accident happened. Well lets just hope that Jaxon heals quickly and that this is not a glimpse of what are whole summer is going to be like.

Yeah I graduated to the next swim class!