Greg FeelyQuadriplegic - for now.

My Story

Before my accident I was a scuba diving instructor and manager of the shore excursions department on a cruise ship. I was very active; always going to new places, meeting great people and experiencing new cultures.

I grew up in a small town close to Vancouver, Canada. Just after high school I earned my scuba diving license and started working on the cruise ships teaching scuba diving. I’ve always loved the water and doing adventurous things, so this job suited me perfectly. Plus I was happy to be traveling and having year round sunny weather. I had some great experiences working in the Caribbean, Alaska, Antarctica, South America, and the eastern coast of Canada and the USA.

While I was working on the cruise ships I was lucky enough to meet the wonderful woman who is now my wife. I eventually became manager of the shore excursions department with a cruise line company. This meant that when guests on the ship wanted to try out the adventures, such as caving, dog sledding, helicopter tours, etc, at various ports, I organized their tours. As part of my job, I was required to try out each tour/adventure so that I could help the guests choose which adventure best suited them. I was at work, on my way to test out a tour in Belize when the van we were in lost control in January 2007.

I spent many months in the hospital. Some of these months were in Miami, Florida, where I had a truly amazing neurosurgeon, Dr. Barth Green, as my doctor. My family and I are grateful everyday for his positive and generous spirit.  Please see the Miami Project for more information on Dr. Green’s inspiring research results.

After my accident the doctors in Miami discovered the operation in Belize that used wires to hold my vertebrae in place had failed and my vertebrae had shifted, causing more trauma to my spinal cord. I had a second surgery to correct this shift. After leaving Miami, I was flown to Vancouver Canada and spent some time in the hospital/rehabilitation center there. My wife and I now have an apartment in Vancouver and are slowly adapting to our new life.

A Day in My Life

In the minutes before a spinal cord injury, you can walk, feed yourself, go to the bathroom, control your body temperature and scratch an itch. But suddenly, the most basic human functions are gone. You can’t eat on your own and must depend on other people to help you go to the bathroom. The dynamics of your normal day to day life are gone. No one could ever be prepared for the tough journey ahead.

Before my accident I had no idea what it meant to not have use of one’s arms and legs. Here is a little insight……

In the morning I have two care-aids come and lift me out of bed and give me a shower and do all the things one needs to do in the morning. This takes about 3 hours. It is usually 1pm by the time I am ready to go.

After this I take care of chores/errands for much of the day. Right now I seem to have much paperwork/administrative details to deal with….anywhere from ordering a special seat for my wheelchair so I don’t develop pressure sores (which normally humans avoid by constantly changing positions and moving so that one part of the body is not constantly under pressure), to ordering a special turning bed that also prevents pressure sores, to setting up and traveling to many, many doctors appointments.

You wouldn’t believe how many things need to be monitored for potential health problems when you have a spinal cord injury (bladder, skin, heart, bone health, etc). Before this accident I had maybe been to the doctor 4-5 times in my entire life.

Since the care-aids can only come at certain times of the day, I go to bed at 8:30 or 9:30 each night. Two care-aids come in the evening for an hour and help get me into bed. The rest of the day my wonderful wife helps me; she has become my hands.