It’s all about perspective. American population wise, about a quarter million has spinal cord injuries. That’s about 0.08% of the population, approximately 1 in 1000. Meaning, most of us don’t usually see paralyzed individuals in our daily lives. Once in a while on the street or in the news, or so unfortunately someone you know personally suffered it. Of course other than it’s a small population, it is also much harder for them to get out. It is much harder to do anything when you can’t move.
So in that respect, my perspective is completely skewed, which explained why I have developed this paranoia of… not remembering to enjoy everything that I have now. It is a fear that you can lose them any moment. There are only about 10 ppl I know on the floor, but I have seen about equal amount of ppl in wheel chairs, paralyzed chest down. Reality, on the most part is what we see and experience daily. Considering lab IS my life, in my head, it is a 50/50 chance. One of my nightmares when I used to study late in high school was waking up on the couch that I fell asleep on and can’t move a single limb. For the briefest few moments before I woke up, it was terrifying. The strength anyone needs to live that way in reality… blows my mind. Most of us can’t imagine living that life… and perhaps knowing what to expect made it more fearful. Miracles don't usually happen. The most motivated however, can make the best out of the worst. It might sound depressing, but weirdly enough witnessing it gives you this sense of optimism. They make the best out of it, whichever way they can, in what most of us consider a nightmare. Makes you want to make it that tad bit easier for them, because really, you have so much more. And of course selfishly, the satisfaction comes from them getting excited about the littlest things (I can move my fingers!) because it makes us felt like we made a difference.
Hence in short, yes, most researchers don’t live in the real world… our reality is an alternate universe to the majority. To be really into it, you have to believe you can achieve something no one else has ever done. That’s the job, to be dreamers. Some live with petri dishes and some with computer models, but we all think our research matters, because we were led to believe so – why else would you do it for peanuts. In the grand scheme of things it might or might not be true.
So in that respect, my perspective is completely skewed, which explained why I have developed this paranoia of… not remembering to enjoy everything that I have now. It is a fear that you can lose them any moment. There are only about 10 ppl I know on the floor, but I have seen about equal amount of ppl in wheel chairs, paralyzed chest down. Reality, on the most part is what we see and experience daily. Considering lab IS my life, in my head, it is a 50/50 chance. One of my nightmares when I used to study late in high school was waking up on the couch that I fell asleep on and can’t move a single limb. For the briefest few moments before I woke up, it was terrifying. The strength anyone needs to live that way in reality… blows my mind. Most of us can’t imagine living that life… and perhaps knowing what to expect made it more fearful. Miracles don't usually happen. The most motivated however, can make the best out of the worst. It might sound depressing, but weirdly enough witnessing it gives you this sense of optimism. They make the best out of it, whichever way they can, in what most of us consider a nightmare. Makes you want to make it that tad bit easier for them, because really, you have so much more. And of course selfishly, the satisfaction comes from them getting excited about the littlest things (I can move my fingers!) because it makes us felt like we made a difference.
Hence in short, yes, most researchers don’t live in the real world… our reality is an alternate universe to the majority. To be really into it, you have to believe you can achieve something no one else has ever done. That’s the job, to be dreamers. Some live with petri dishes and some with computer models, but we all think our research matters, because we were led to believe so – why else would you do it for peanuts. In the grand scheme of things it might or might not be true.
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