Derek Neary
Northern News Services

Fort Simpson (Nov 26/99) - Karen Carleton remembers nothing about the day she was involved in a roll-over accident that broke her neck.

The after-effects, however, were all too clear.

Carleton, who had taught in Kakisa and had recently became the Deh Cho co-ordinator for Aurora College, spent four weeks sedated by pain-killing medication. Her third vertebrae and her right clavicle were broken on July 9 when the Chevy Blazer she was driving overturned between Fort Smith and Hay River.

Carleton soon became conscious of her surroundings; a Saskatoon hospital room with a "halo" (a metal support brace) screwed into her skull to prevent her from moving her neck and worsening her condition. She spent a total of three months in that state.

"Showering was very difficult and getting dressed was very difficult," she said. "You have no dignity at all ... it was frustrating at times. Thank goodness I was here because my family came to see me everyday and my friends were here."

Kakisa students also visited her when she was in an Edmonton hospital shortly after the accident, but she can only vaguely recall their presence.

Carleton then underwent intensive rehabilitation in Saskatoon, Sask. She was released from the hospital on Oct. 3 and has since been staying with her mother in Saskatoon. She completed her rehabilitation day-program just over a month ago. She still has to wear a neck brace and experiences periodic aches and pains, but is able to attend aqua-fit classes or engage in light weight-lifting.

"I didn't want a cane at all. I went from (using) a walker to nothing. I'm getting around very well now and I find that my strength has improved a lot. I'm able to open doors or cook or whatever. It's just a matter of fatigue."

Although she isn't yet capable of living on her own, she's finally confident that she'll soon regain her independence.

"They (the doctors) had told me that I would recover fully, but at the same time you don't fully believe it," she said. "Almost everyone who was in a halo on the same rehabilitation floor in the hospital was a paraplegic or a quadriplegic."

Her trying ordeal has also opened her eyes to how challenging life can be for the disabled, she said.

"You just can't believe how difficult life is," she said, mentioning how a number of locations were not wheelchair accessible. "You have to do everything from a sitting position. It was very, very hard ... I found I've learned a lot of patience."

Carleton is striving to return to the Deh Cho in January and hopes to resume her job with Aurora College half-time.

"I know that I'm still making huge strides. Initially when I was in the hospital, I couldn't write at all. I couldn't even hold a pen. Now I can write almost as good or even better than before."