BUILD YOUR TOOLBOX Author Tonya Joyce of Guided Path Wellness
W
hen an illness or
injury impacts your life, your world is turned upside down and everything changes in an instant. This was my reality in 2012 when I was struck by a drunk driver just five minutes from home; I died instantly and came back to life with a message that there was more to do! It has been a long journey to discover what that “more to do” exactly is. Through my journey of being in a wheelchair to walking in heels, I discovered several techniques that helped me to understand how the mind communicates with the body, and how to manage pain, stress, and PTSD. I built my own toolbox of modalities and I invite you to build your own toolbox of healing as well. Initially, during the acute phase of my accident recovery, I was on several medications to treat my injuries. I had incurred a broken neck in two places, had broken transverse process in my back, a
deep head laceration which required stitches and staples to close, two broken ribs, a pseudoaneurysm on my left carotid artery, a blood clot in my throat, a punctured left lung, severe damage to my right wrist (later requiring a tendon graft to repair) and several steroid injections to gain mobility. Furthermore, I had deep contusions to both of my legs, post concussion syndrome, and a severe staph infection on my lower lumbar spine (later diagnosed as methicillin resistant staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) - difficult to treat as it requires long term more potent antibiotics). When I returned home to my
family, after 18 days in hospital, I was in a wheelchair and could not function independently. I had an entire team of people making decisions for me. I was required to wear an Aspen Collar twenty-four hours a day, medications were administered every two hours (which consisted of sedating opioids – among others) and I was cared for by a nurse at home. I had an ort hope dic s pecialist and a spine surgeon, a team of trauma
