Home · Contact Us · Links
Menu:
Vinal MichaudGrand Falls, NB Age: 64 Occupation: retired Favourite food: mayonnaise cake Favourite pastime: fishing, hunting, Favourite television show: The Unit Favourite musician: Elvis Presley Mentors: Jackie Kennedy and Joanne MacLeod, founding member of CPA (N.B.) |
"The best thing |
Tell me about your injury and how it affects your mobility:
I was injured over 50 years ago. I had a tractor accident that left me paraplegic. I was ten years old at the time.
Both of my legs are amputated. I lost my first leg 30 years ago and the second leg was amputated 3 or 4 years ago. Before my first amputation, I was stiff and fused at the hip and I was unable to dress myself or put shoes on...I couldn't bend my leg. I also had a lot of pressure sores. The doctor suggested that we amputate and it took me more than a year to decide to deal with it and have the leg amputated.
I use an electric wheelchair to get around and I have a van with a wheelchair lift and I drive myself.
Tell me about the day you were injured:
I remember that day vividly as if it was yesterday. It's been 53 years.... As a matter of fact, the spot where I was injured is about 500 yards from where I live. I remember I was going down the hill with the tractor and I had no brakes. I tried to down shift it and I hit a small rock and the wheels turned. The tractor flipped and I was pinned under the tractor.
Two people were going by and they found me. They tried to lift the tractor but they couldn't. They went and got help.
When they lifted the tractor, I walked to the car and they took me to the hospital. I lost consciousness and I woke up three days later. When I woke up in the hospital in Edmundston, I wasn't able to walk. When I was unconscious, the hospital told my family I wasn't going to live. I showed them.
Tell me about your rehabilitation.
I stayed in the Edmundston hospital for 11 months. When the polio clinic opened in Fredericton around 1955, they transferred me there. I stayed there for two years. They didn't have much rehabilitation in those days. In 1957, when the Stan Cassidy Centre opened, I went there and that is where I got more of my rehabilitation. It was three years after my accident before I went home.
As a person with a spinal cord injury, what have been your greatest challenges?
In the early years, the greatest challenge was to be accepted by people. People in wheelchairs were not too accepted in those days. I was lucky... I had good parents. When my parents went somewhere, they took me with them when other families would hide their children away.
I had a hard time to get accepted by girls. When I first fell in love, I had lots of problems with her parents. We eventually had to go our separate ways.
It was challenging to try to get people to accept the way that I was. Little old ladies would tap me on the head and say "poor thing."
When I received my first car I called to get an appointment to get my license and they told me that a guy in a wheelchair could not drive a car. I remember that I bought my first hand controls out of the United States and I drove anyway. I was stopped by the police several times and fined for not having a license. Once I was brought to court and the judge said "why don't you just go and take a test and get your license." I told him that I had tried and I told him what they had said. The judge picked up the phone and called the license bureau directly and asked them to give me a test. I took the test and received my license right away.
Who have been the greatest supports in your life?
My parents. If I needed something, I went to get it. They wanted me to do as much as I could for myself. If they went somewhere, they brought me along with them.
When I met my wife, that changed me quite a bit. Before I met her, I loved fast cars and I loved to race and I was quite a rebel. When I met her, everything turned around. She slowed me down. We married and we had two girls. I give her a lot of credit.
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?
It's getting there...but a lot of places that you go are not accessible. I have been an advocate here in Grand Falls. The town has made a lot of changes such as adding ramps.
One complaint I have is the lack of disabled parking spots. I do get concerned that too many disabled parking permits are given out and there are not enough spots. Some people abuse it. It is often difficult for someone who needs a disabled parking spot to find it.
What needs to be done to address these issues?
I have tried to deal with them directly. If I encounter something that I feel is important, I go to the person in charge and try to talk to them about it. Like the town here...I have talked to them and they have made changes. They are doing a good job.
How did you get involved in the CPA (N.B.) Inc.?
Someone came to see me when I was in the polio clinic in Fredericton. That's how I found out about them. One of the founders of the CPA (N.B.) was in the hospital with me. I became a member and sat on the Board of Directors. I also did volunteer work for the organization for many years and I am now President of a disability group in Grand Falls.
Why do you feel the CPA (N.B.) Inc. services are important?
They help people with spinal cord injuries ...people with new injuries especially benefit from being in touch with CPA (N.B.). The organization can educate about how to live with your injury.
What message do you have for someone who has just incurred a spinal cord injury or someone with a physical disability?
You have to stay focused and stay positive. You can't let a disability get you down. You have to focus on the future. You have to say to yourself, "I can get through this." To stay home and sulk about it is the worst thing you can do. I went through some rough spots, but who doesn't. Good friends are a big help.
Based on an interview with Haley Flaro, Executive Director, CPA (N.B.) Inc. on August 23, 2006.