It was a crisp October night in 1991 when Wendy Weiler’s life changed forever. She was 26 years old and on her way home from a business trip when a tragic accident left her paralyzed and in a wheelchair. On the highrise bridge in downtown Milwaukee a truck with a heavy load of steel pipes passed her and braked. “I grabbed the wheel really hard and held my breath,” she said. The pipes broke loose and carried Wendy’s car over the bridge, a fall equal to six stories.
Her parents were watching the local 10:00 evening news when a breaking story about a traffic accident interrupted the regular newcast. “My mom knew I was coming home from a business trip. Somehow she knew it was me and a few minutes later they got the phone call.”
Wendy’s car ended up in the Marquette Law School parking lot. “I don’t know that I ever fully lost consciousness. I just thought I hit the pipes or the side of the freeway but then when I looked around I realized I was under the freeway.” She was rushed to the hospital with an injury to her L1 vertebrae which is at the top of the lumbar spinal column. Wendy was paralyzed from the waist down. It took her two months to recuperate and be released from the hospital.
Before the accident Wendy was a highly motivated and competitive person. She did triathlons and many other sporting activities. She was determined not to let her new reality change her attitude. “I’ve never been a person who is like, why me? I was always a doer anyway.” A defining moment for Wendy came as she observed another injured person cope, in the hospital room next to hers. It was a young man who was about 18 years old who was in a car accident and became a quadrepelegic, meaning he was paralyzed from the neck down. “He just did not want to live. He did everything possible to refuse food or air. He would find ways to get out his feeding tube and his air tube.” That young man eventually died. “That’s when I realized it’s a choice. You either do it or you don’t do it.”
While healing in the hospital Wendy was surrounded by a group of about 8-10 people also dealing with spinal cord injuries. They were going through rehabilitation together. There was a woman in her 40s, a man in his 60s, and gunshot wound victims including a woman who was hit by a stray bullet who would never go on to hold her new baby. “You have this group of people who are learning how to live this new life together and people handle it differently.”
Wendy had strong family support and her competitive spirit began to kick in once again. Representatives from the Wisconsin Independent Living Center came to speak to the group encouraging them to get involved, and Wendy jumped at the chance. The first thing she tried was kayaking. She attended a camp where you could try out different adaptive equipment. She also tried waterskiing using a sit ski which is a seat mounted six inches above a single waterski. She loved it. “You want to do it because it’s a new challenge. It’s fun. I was in really good shape before my accident which helped.”
Since then Wendy has been open to trying almost anything. She has an adaptive hand cranked bike and she loves to swim. She has played tennis and has her sights on something new to her. Next on her bucket list is cross country skiing. That involves a sled with a seat close to the ground with shorter poles for guidance. Wendy says you can find whatever you want, you just have to look. The resources are out there. “Try anything. You can do what you used to do. It just looks different. Seek out things you’ve always done and then find a way to do that.” Lots of options are free to those with disabilities. Wendy also encourages using GoFundMe to raise the money for equipment, if financing is an issue. There are wheelchairs out there with larger wheels for better stability, so hiking and beaches are no longer off limits.
Since her accident so long ago Wendy has lived a full life. She earned a degree in law, got married and has two beautiful daughters. She is active in the community especially when it comes to making the world around her more accessible to those with disabilities. She writes, blogs and consults with municipalities on accessibility. A lot of work still needs to be done, but with Wendy involved the world is bound to be a better place
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