The Day My Life Changed

S eptember 13th, 2006 I was in a car accident with my older sister (the driver) that changed our lives forever.  I am now living life from a wheelchair and although at times it is the hardest thing I've ever had to deal with i also know it is extremely hard for my sister to deal with also.  At the time i was 19 years old about be 20. My birthday is September 22nd so i spent my 20th birthday in the hospital unaware of what was going on. I don' t remember anything of that day or a month and a half after. I had several complications the first and most important was my aorta was completely severed from my heart and had to be repaired by open heart surgery, i had a hole in my bowels, i had 2 collapsed lungs, i had a tracheotomy, i was put on a feeding tube,my organs started shutting down and i had to be put on dialysis and have blood transfusions, i had broken ribs and a broken sternum, i have two herniated disks in my back,and a spinal injury at T8 that occurred during surgery to save my life, i also suffered a stroke and concussion,i had to have plastic surgery done on my face and eyes, and i was told upon waking that i would be ventilator dependent and a quadriplegic the rest of my life.  I soon found out that the doctors weren't 100% correct. I got off of the ventilator and have full use of my upper half and my lungs. I also have partial feeling in my lower extremities.  At the time of the accident i was a full-time employee and college student. I had an extremely active life. I haven't fully recovered from the accident I've had a few set backs and i hope to one day lead a life similar to my old one, just from a chair.    I would really like to hear other peoples stories similar to mine and how you have dealt with your situation.