At the request of my physician, I had an MRI taken of my neck on the 26th of December. The purpose was to determine if there was any change to the injured area. In rare circumstances, a cyst can form and fill with fluid which places pressure on the spinal cord. The pressure can result in increased spasms, numbing, strength loss, and more. Prior to getting the MRI, the physician told me the chance of having the cyst is slim to none. Well, the MRI showed that I do indeed have a cyst pressing against my cord.

What does this mean? Well, there is a great chance that removing the fluid and relieving the pressure will free up my left side and allow for "normal" movement. Essentially, it will allow me to lose the crutch/cane and use my left arm/leg in every day activities. Unless you were aware of the actual injury it would be undetectable. Can you believe that? There are some inherent risks involved, but they are minor. I've never been one to not take risks (imagine that?) I will be meeting with the surgeon within the next few days and determining when the fluid will be removed. I will keep you updated as to when/where/what etc.

With all of this being said, I have to reflect back to when I was in Intensive Care a year ago and made a promise to God that if I could breathe without a respirator, I was going to be all right. Everything after that was a bonus!

Thank you for your continued prayers and support.

My family was always very active. We would always take vacations together. Many of our family trips would be to new resorts for snow skiing. My first time skiing was when I was about 6 years old. Over a period of time I became a pretty good skier. When I was in the 8th grade my brother had already been snowboarding for a couple of years. I wanted to go on the runs with him, so I quickly learned how to snowboard. I ended up becoming fairly decent at it. I had to do it well in order to keep up with him and his friends.

On February 19, 1999, as a Sophomore in high school, I went with two of my great friends to Sierra Summit ski resort. I headed off to the snowboard park where I was attempting to do a 360 jump and I fell, landing on my neck with my legs flipping over my head, snapping my back in half. My friend's father is a doctor, so he knew just what to do. He kept me conscious and told me not to move. If it wasn't for him being with me that day, life could have had a different ending for me. While I laid in the snow with my friend at my side, my other friend went to get help. There were clouds over the Fresno area, and the life flight helicopter didn't have the instrumentation to fly through the bad weather, so they air lifted me to Modesto Memorial Hospital. I was in ICU for a couple of weeks and was then transported to Valley Children's Hospital in Fresno. I spent the next five weeks working through therapy and dealing with my new life with certain physical disabilities. After returning home and daily doing therapy for about a year, I decided to take my life back . . . doing the normal things that high school students do. I returned that fall to my Junior year of high school, going to class daily, the school dances, and hanging out with friends. I did graduate with my class on time. If it weren't for God, my incredible group of friends and my wonderful family I wouldn't be here today.

I am still a paraplegic, but I know that I find God's strength to be very special in my life. A verse to live by is the only thing that will get me through every challenge that I must face in life. "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me." Philippians 4:13.
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Rachelle is currently a San Diego State University student. She will be one of our featured Whitney Hope Foundation speakers; sharing her story of overcoming the many circumstances life has for a young person who is in a wheelchair. She will also be actively involved in planning and leading the program for Camp Attitude-So Cal, and assisting with administrative needs.

For information on booking Rachelle for a speaking event, please contact the Whitney Hope office at 805.658.1189.

On December 16th of this year, I accomplished a goal that I set last year when I thought the goal was close to unattainable. I WALKED back to the exact spot where I injured my neck and looked up into the trees. I WALKED there.

All the feelings came back with a rush like a flash flood in the desert. I definitely was not ready for the onslaught of emotions that followed. I had felt some anxiety as the day approached. I couldn't believe that a year had gone by. In that very place, my physical life was altered forever. In one split second...it all changed.

Notice above I said my PHYSICAL life was altered and not my EMOTIONAL. I tried my hardest to keep my emotional feelings in check, as I knew I was going to face some hard times ahead. I have told many of you that my philosophy has always been to inhale the moment. Feel the good and the bad, happy and sad, mad and glad. When you do that, life takes on a different meaning. There are educational institutions all over the world but nothing can teach you more than your own personal experiences. I guarantee there was no "higher" education for what I learned this last year. To pull from the Wide World of Sports motto "It was the thrill of victory and the agony of defeat".

Thank you so much to those of you that made the one-year anniversary special. Each of you will forever have a place in my heart. Thank you to those that kept up with what was going on...you'll never truly understand how much it has meant. I had a nurse say to me last year while I was in the hospital "Get sick or badly hurt and you will find who your real friends are." She was right on the money. But I think I experienced something even more important and that's "Get sick or badly hurt and you'll find out how many friends you didn't know you had" I prefer to focus on the latter.

Now...before I leave this one year milestone behind, I wanted to share an experience with you that kinda put everything in perspective. I had gone to see the movie Pearl Harbor and I was still pretty weak in the legs. About 1/2 way through the show, nature called and I was certain I could make it to the restroom on my own. I managed to stagger up the aisle and push open the theater door. Right after the door closed behind me, my shorts dropped to the floor. There I stood with my shorts around my ankles with moviegoers looking at me and I'm sure feeling as awkward as I did. (I had lost a lot of weight and my clothes were very loose). Fortunately, Candi had followed me and pulled my shorts up. We laughed about it then and we laugh even harder now. I learned the valuable lesson of being able to laugh at myself and in some crazy way, I knew right then that everything was going to be okay. Becoming paralyzed had changed my life...not ended it.

• March 10,2002 at the ARC in Oxnard,CA
• April 13,2002 at 1st Baptist Church of Pomona,CA
• April 23,2002 at the 7th Annual PLNU Executive Business Breakfast at the Grant Hotel in San Diego,CA

For more information on these, or any other Whitney Hope events, please visit our website at http://www.whitneyhope.com .

Our board member Dan Raatjes and his wife Wendi are in need of your prayers. Wendi is presently being hospitalized for her pregnancy. Wendi is a former international athlete, with great health . . . yet, her little boy is bringing pre-labor complications to her pregnancy. Their son is only 2.5 pounds presently, and the medical team does not like delivering a baby that immature. The child's critical organs are being developed during this part of the gestation period. This is their first child!

Their baby is about 29 weeks and the doctors really want to get to 34 weeks. Wendi must have complete bed rest for the next 5 weeks in the hospital. Please take the time to send a card of encouragement to Dan and Wendi.