Quadriplegic Ashleigh Justice’s Adventures In Rehab And Rugby

Editor’s Note: Fifteen year old Ashleigh Justice of Phoenix, Arizona, was driving her family vehicle when tragedy struck and changed her life forever. She explains that, “The one glimmer of hope in this world when I was injured physically and mentally and having to adjust to family problems, housing problems and school problems was rehab.” Part 4 of a 5 part series.

The first 2 weeks of rehab I couldn’t do anything for myself. I was still moving very slowly, because of my brain injury. I was in a mental fog and had a very difficult time thinking. I also had a broken collar bone and shoulder blade  I couldn’t do anything on my left side. However, when that part of my body began to heal, I started learning how to do transfers. I never will forget what a big accomplishment being able to make that first transfer from my wheelchair was. Being able to transfer myself was my first real triumph since the accident. My next triumph was when I was able to write my own name, since I had limited mobility in my hands. Next, being able to lean over in my wheelchair and being able to pick something up off the floor was my next big accomplishment. When I could pick up my hairbrush, I felt like I was really getting better. When you lose all your physical abilities, including your bowel functions, and life breaks you down that much, then when you start to have little successes, they become major triumphs. You appreciate the little triumphs too and start to love them. I developed a love for everything I could do. I feel like even now that I’m always recovering. But, my initial recovery took about 3 years. That’s when I began to accept who I was and started participating in wheelchair sports.

Ashleigh Justice wasn't able to do many day to day things in rehab, but she pulled herself out of that hole and made many accomplishments.

One of the major benefits I got from wheelchair sports was that I didn’t feel guilty or self conscious for being in a wheelchair and having to rely on others to help me. Wheelchair sports allowed me to express myself and to regain the personality I’d had before my injury.  I finally loved who I was. My favorite sport was wheelchair rugby, which was one of the few sports that a quadriplegic could do. I had some mentors from the hospital who played wheelchair rugby, and they encouraged me to try the sport. I went to a rugby clinic and fell in love with it. I was able to learn so much from my rugby teammates. Nationally only about six or seven girls played wheelchair rugby, and I was the only girl on my team. Rugby was challenging enough to allow me to feel like I was really accomplishing my goal of getting better.

Rugby made Ashleigh Justice feel great!

The competition was level enough that I didn’t feel like I was being overshadowed by the boys. I was a player – I wasn’t just a girl or just a quadriplegic. To be honest, I really enjoyed knocking the boys down. When I could knock a guy out of his chair, I really felt awesome. But, most of the time, they knocked themselves over trying to get to me. My being able to snatch the ball away from a guy or passing the ball over his head really made the guys angry, and then they’d come after me. They didn’t back off just because I was a girl. The day before I met my husband was the last rugby tournament I ever played.  

About Ashleigh Justice
As a 10-year veteran of SCI and TBI,  Ashleigh has lived with her injuries (the result of a rollover car accident) since she was 15 and has overcome many challenges, including most recently, becoming a parent. She has spent many years mentoring other people with SCI and has discovered that with the right attitude and the right amount of knowledge, nothing is impossible. Today, Ashleigh writes a blog for brain and spinal cord injured individuals (quadriplegia mainly) called The QuadFiles, sponsored by AdvisaCare.  It’s a compilation of resources, stories and motivations – see www.theQuadfiles.com for details. 

Next: Life After Wheelchair Rugby With Quadriplegic Ashleigh Justice

About the Author: For the last 12 years, John E. Phillips of Vestavia, Alabama, has been a professional blogger for major companies, corporations and tourism associations throughout the nation. During his 24 years as Outdoor Editor for “The Birmingham Post-Herald” newspaper, he published more than 7,000 newspaper columns and sold more than 100,000 of his photos to newspapers, magazines and internet sites. He also hosted a radio show that was syndicated at 27 radio stations; created, wrote and sold a syndicated newspaper column that ran in 38 newspapers for more than a decade; and wrote and sold more than 30 books. Learn more at http://www.nighthawkpublications.com

The Day Life Changed For Quadriplegic Ashleigh Justice

Editor’s Note: As a 15-year-old new driver, Ashleigh Justice of Phoenix, Arizona, was driving her family vehicle when tragedy struck and changed her life forever. Part 1 of a 5 part series.

Ashleigh Justice endured a life changing car accident that drastically changed her life.

Justice: I remember as a new driver, driving back with my family from a vacation in Texas. We thought my driving was relatively safe on the open highway, because there were very few cars on the road from Texas to Phoenix. On the open road, there was a semi tractor trailer that I needed to pass. As I started around him, he moved over into my lane. To complicate matters even more, there was a crosswind blowing across the highway. I tried to avoid him, and when I attempted to get back in my lane, I lost control of the car. The car went off the road as I tried to steer back, and my tires slipped on the shoulder of the road. Our car rolled over several times. I had my seatbelt on, and I wasn’t speeding. When the car started rolling over, my sister was thrown out of the car, because she wasn’t wearing her seatbelt.

She landed about 40 feet out into the desert from where the car eventually stopped. The roof of the car caved in on my side and caused a compression fracture in my neck and a brain injury. My sister and I were airlifted from the scene of the crash to the hospital. That’s where they discovered I had a spinal cord and brain injury. I went into spinal cord shock, at least that’s what I was told. My head hit the car so hard that I didn‘t remember anything from 30 minutes before the accident. The first time I could remember anything was 3 days later when I woke up in the hospital. I was told that my sister went into cardiac arrest on the way to the hospital, but the paramedics brought her back. Although she sustained a broken collar bone, shoulder blade and had torn the muscles away from her spine, thankfully she was able to walk out of the hospital the day after the accident. I stayed in intensive care for 10 days and didn’t know what the future held for me.

Before the accident, I was a normal teenager. I was in the marching band at our high school, and I played the cymbals. I was also very active in drama. I wasn’t an actress, but I loved to build things and worked with the set designer, building the props. I was a free spirit. I went wherever I wanted to go and did whatever I wanted to do. If I didn’t have a ride from where I was to where I wanted to be, I’d figure out a way to get a ride. Nothing could stop me mentally or physically. I was an A/B student and had planned to go out for the softball team the year after the accident. I was dating a guy before the accident but not very seriously. I wanted to be an attorney. I liked being able to prove a point and then defending that position. I liked the exchange between two opposing viewpoints. I also wanted to be a marine biologist and was fascinated by the creatures of the ocean, especially the ones you couldn’t see. I was an international baccalaureate and an honor student. I also really enjoyed writing and poetry. My sister was a star student, who’d always been on the honor roll. I really had a bright future in front of me before the accident.

About Ashleigh Justice
As a 10-year veteran of SCI and TBI,  Ashleigh has lived with her injuries (the result of a rollover car accident) since she was 15 and has overcome many challenges, including most recently, becoming a parent. She has spent many years mentoring other people with SCI and has discovered that with the right attitude and the right amount of knowledge, nothing is impossible. Today, Ashleigh writes a blog for brain and spinal cord injured individuals (quadriplegia mainly) called The QuadFiles, sponsored by AdvisaCare.  It’s a compilation of resources, stories and motivations – see www.theQuadfiles.com for details. 

Next: Ashleigh Justice Wakes Up And Isn’t Prepared For Her New Life

About the Author: For the last 12 years, John E. Phillips of Vestavia, Alabama, has been a professional blogger for major companies, corporations and tourism associations throughout the nation. During his 24 years as Outdoor Editor for “The Birmingham Post-Herald” newspaper, he published more than 7,000 newspaper columns and sold more than 100,000 of his photos to newspapers, magazines and internet sites. He also hosted a radio show that was syndicated at 27 radio stations; created, wrote and sold a syndicated newspaper column that ran in 38 newspapers for more than a decade; and wrote and sold more than 30 books. Learn more at http://www.nighthawkpublications.com