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Alix Reese's Story (Neuro Note 2)

While searching through articles to write this note on, I was immediate struck by the title of a post about a girl named Alix Reese called “I’m Still Myself.” On May 17, 2010, Alix and her friend were caught in the midst of a gunfight. A bullet shot through her car, hitting Alix in the neck, shattering parts of her spinal cord. Since that day, Alix has been completely paralyzed below her shoulders.  Her story is extraordinary though in that she does not see her life as unlucky. Alix is thankful that she survived this awful event. She stated, “I’m still alive and still have the same mentality and personality that I had before. I’m still myself.” Although Alix now uses a mouth-controlled chair to get from A to B, she is thankful to simply be alive and still spends her time enjoying her favorite activities as before.
While having a spinal cord injury may physically limit you, you are still your same self with the same mind. It is your own motivation to continue living your life that defines your happiness at the end of the day. In the beginning of the article, Joel writes that Alix does not have a wheelchair in her dreams. She is a fully functional person who works at Charlotte Russe, and seems completely “normal” to everyone around her. Alix does not want pity from the people around her; she wants everyone to see her as a normal person.
This article opened my eyes to a new perspective of people with physical disabilities. Just because someone uses a wheelchair instead of feet and legs does not mean that they are any different than you. You have to look at someone beyond their disability and realize that their physical challenges do not define who they are as a human being. As occupational therapists, it is not our job to fix the physical disability, but rather to strive toward keeping the disability from keeping a person from doing the activities he or she finds meaningful. Alix continues doing the things she loves, including watching sci-fi, reading, and keeping in touch with friends. She does not let her spinal cord injury control her life, but instead embraces the fact that her life was given a second chance.


Oliphint, J. (2016, May 27). People: Alix Reese: “I’m Still Myself.” Retrieved from             http://www.columbusalive.com/content/stories/2016/05/26/people-alix-  reese-im-still-myself.html



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