Quad-verseries – Kenny Salvini

The Man in the Hole: 20 Years Later

20 years ago this week I woke up to a nightmare. Amidst the whirlwind of chaotic memories from those early days and weeks after the snow skiing accident that left me paralyzed from the neck down, I can vividly recall the terrible sense that all of my lifelong dreams were disappearing as quickly as I…

An Embarrassment of Riches

The 11th of February marked the 17th anniversary of the snow skiing accident that flipped my world upside down and set my life on a completely new trajectory. I’ve spent much of the month reflecting on the morphine-fogged memories of my first few weeks in the ICU at Harborview Medical Center; waking up each morning…

Another Lap Around the Sun

I have written about it a handful of times, and each time, I’ve found that my relationship with the anniversary of my accident has evolved. The first few years, I didn’t need a reminder because I’d been counting the days, breaths, and heartbeats that I’d survived along the way. At five years, I couldn’t find the words….

10 years

A decade. Already? Most times it feels closer to 10 minutes or maybe 10 months, but 10 laps around the sun means I have traveled nearly six billion miles without actually moving a muscle – yes, I did the math – which is pretty damn impressive. That kind of time and distance affords you the…

… And eating it, too.

I spent the last couple of days trying to come up with something earth shattering to commemorate the ninth anniversary of my accident. Hours were spent agonizing over mixed metaphors, word choice and tone. Then my night caregiver showed up for her shift with this: Yep, that’s a cake reenactment of the 40 foot fall…

Stealing someone else’s words

Hey, I’ve said before that I’m not above it. I have spent the last couple days (without sleep) trying to find the right words to commemorate today. I never would have thought they would show up secondhand in an e-mail my mom sent out to friends and loved ones this evening. Enjoy… Hi There, I…

Not just another day

So this is how it’s going to end?… I thought to myself, the helicopter blades beating their rhythmic cadence all around my lifeless body as the medevac carved its way through the night sky on its way to Harborview Medical Center. Barely able to breathe and slipping in and out of consciousness, I was sure…

Two years

And so it is, I’ve officially made two laps around the sun without actually moving. Now, it’s understandable that people might assume that this particular day would be one of my worst. Not really the case, though. I’m not sure about anyone else in situations like mine, but the actual anniversary date doesn’t mean a whole…