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Chris Aalders

Fredericton, NB

Hometown: originally from Halifax

Occupation: an Urban Forester by profession

Favourite food: lasagna

Favourite pastime: going into the wilderness, playing basketball

Favourite television show: House

Favourite author: J.R.R. Tolkien

Mentor: my Dad

Chris Aalders

The best advice that
was given to me was
'find the positives'.
Everyday, find three positives.”

Tell me about your injury and how it affects your mobility:

I have a spinal cord injury, T6 - an injury to the thoracic sixth
vertabra. I use a manual wheelchair and I am able to drive a
car myself using manual hand controls. I'm fairly autonomous
for getting around.

Tell me about the day you were injured:

It was August 15 - two years ago. We were living in Montreal. There was an employee shortfall at work so we were working a lot more hours. It was a sunny and warm Sunday afternoon, we were working on the trees of a bank's parking lot. I was too relaxed...my mind wasn't completely on the job. I had just finished pruning the top of my last tree for the day and only had a few lower branches to take care of. I repositioned my mainline rope into another crotch on the tree in order to reach those lower branches. I checked to make sure everything was secure...it seemed to be. I then released my safetyline and leaned back to descend. Unfortunately something was wrong with my connection between the carabiner on my harness and the mainline. So I fell 30 feet - free fall onto my back in a pile of branches.

My head was inches fromthe curb and only a couple of feet from a wrought iron fence. I didn't lose consciousness and I did the "stupid thing" and I tried to raise my head and holler for help. We always worked in pairs with someone on the ground but because we were short staffed my partner was up in a tree working. I had no ground man. I had to wait until he stopped using his chainsaw to yell for his attention. I got it on my second attempt, he called 911 and they took me to the hospital.

I was in the hospital for a month, transferred to the rehab centre for three months and then I was an outpatient after that.

As a person with a spinal cord injury, what has been your greatest challenge? What have been your greatest successes?

The greatest challenge is trying to keep everything positive especially around my three year old son. It's trying not to let the little things get you down. You always have to look for the positive in everything. You have to have a positive.

One of my greatest successes was in rehab...my fellow patients looked to me as a source of inspiration. I quickly learned the tasks that my therapists gave me and was always asking for more. The exercise I am most proud of learning is the ability to go up a flight of stairs with a hand rail in my chair.

Another success has been wheelchair basketball. It has improved my self image, keeps me physically fit and the social aspect is great for the moral. l seem to have picked up on the basics very quickly. This year we were eligible to play in the Canadian Wheelchair Basketball finals. As a rookie I received a significant amount of court time.

Who have been the greatest supports in your life?

...family...Cristin and Logan (my wife and son), and my parents and Cristin's parents. My family came from Halifax right away after the accident and they are always there for us.

When people were hearing about how I was paralyzed they would say to my family "we're so sorry" but my family kept saying "he is paralyzed... but he's still Chris."

What do you believe are the top issues facing people with spinal cord injuries in New Brunswick? What needs to be done to address these issues?

Accessibility...for leisure and workplace. One thing that would help is if there was a better rating system for disabled access. For tourists, there are brochures that say places or things are accessible...but you show up somewhere and it might be accessible to some people but it may not be accessible to others. A rating system should have classifications like "fully accessible" or "accessible to people with assistance."

Another issue is finding things that will keep you active. I'm new to Fredericton but it seems that there is not a very active paraplegic population. I am able to keep active playing basketball but I don't see a lot of choices for other activities out there. I hope that it is because I am new to the area.

Why do you feel the CPA (N.B.) Inc. services are important?

In Montreal I knew the CPA as a place to go for more information for my area on things like accessibility, modifications on cars, contractors that were recommended for doing modifications to houses and other things. It was a great information source. I want to learn more about the CPA here in New Brunswick.

What message do you have for someone who has just incurred a spinal cord injury or someone with a physical disability?

The best advice that was given to me was "find the positives". Everyday, find three positives. Maybe it's that you made your kids or your family laugh or you are finally able to tie your own shoes. Anything.

Based on an interview with Haley Flaro, Executive Director, CPA (N.B.) Inc. on August 23, 2006.

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