When I was in the rehab hospital what really helped me was listening to “The Martian” on audiobook. Mark Watney was learning how to grow potatoes on Mars and take a roadtrip across another planet. I was learning how to get dressed and get into my wheelchair. His attitude: the positive, can-do, trust in the process of science and human invention… it was infectious. It lifted me. I was a stranger in my own body, but I was also a scientist and an optimist. I tried to tackled each problem with his same mix of wonder and critical thinking. I believe so strongly in the human capacity for creativity and problem-solving. Here is the only photo I have from my hospital stay. It shows my setup of noise-cancelling headphones (playing audiobooks) and towels I used to shut out three roommates and a constant stream of nurses.

My period of rapid learning is over. But I still have a daily struggle in my brain that needs Mark Watney’s input. I don’t know what’s possible. I face new situations for my new body and I have to choose, each time, if I’m going to back down or if I’m going to try. This is when attitude is important. This is when I have to remain positive, again and again, and not get tired of problem-solving through the basics.

Right now I’m working on independence with biking. This means I need 1) a bike route that starts and ends at my house that is safe and not too difficult 2) a way to leave my wheelchair and get into my bike without either getting stolen in the interim 3) a way to come back and reset the system for a subsequent ride. So we’re trying out paths. We cleared a space in the garage for my bike and my chair to sit side by side. I plan on biking out with the garage door opener so I can close the door on my chair. I’m still not sure how to reset. My bike doesn’t go backwards. I’ll have to enter pointing the wrong way. Then still be able to reach my chair. And how do I flip the bike for the next ride? It’s a work in progress. I’m sure we’ll figure it out.

This week I heard a TED talk that lifted and carried me on a new wave of optimism. The line that spoke to me most strongly was: “a human being is never broken.” In his TED talk, Hugh Herr describes losing both his legs in a mountaineering accident. He goes on to invent a series of more and more sophisticated prosthetics that suit his needs and allow him to climb again and pursue other endeavours. He is currently a professor at the MIT Media Lab and head of the Biomechatronics group. He explained: “my body is not inadequate, technology is inadequate.” As scientist and inventors and engineers, we can solve this problem.  I won’t do his work justice trying to describe it here.. You should check out his talk!

I was so inspired, I wrote Hugh Herr an e-mail. He answered back!