Donna,  I am glad that i came on here and shared my feelings. It has really helped me a lot to read  what other caregivers  are doing, going through, feeling.It has helped just to express my feelings and realize i am not the only person in the world living the life of a caregiver. I will pray for you and I hope you are able to sing your heart out.    Darrin

Hi Stephen,

My boyfriend is a (quad c5/6) he was a victim of a driveby shooting back in Jan2012. When i read your response to Darrin i was wondering how your wife is able to use the tv & phone. My boyfriend's uncle set him up on the computer but i'm trying to find a way so he can change the tv on his own. By the way he has no hand movement.
 

My wife has a setup on her wheelchair that is part of her controller package. It is from Permobile, and is calledR-net and is from PGDrives Technology. www.pgdt.com. They are a Spirent company according to the manual. this setup allows her tu use IR transmitter to the TV, and she has also bought a bluetooth adapter that allows her to use the handle on her power wheelchair as a mouse. There are alos sip-and-puff options available. Cathy can use her arms, but not her hands. so this works pretty well. In addition, I bought a copy of Dragon Naturally Speaking. Andd for phone use, when I leave a hang a headset on her ear, and she uses something called a SAJE technologies phone setup. You can google that one. It's pretty standard. Problem is it doesn't work with Windows 7 yet, so you have to install an emulator.

wow, i thought i was reading my life story in yours. my husband was paralyzed 2 1/2 yrs ago with the same thing he has marfan syndrome which caused the dissection. it seems we have lost many things. i feel guilty when i miss the intimacy. not necessarily the intercourse but the hand holding and thecaressing. he is in pain most of the time or just doesnt feel attractive anymore. i love this man more than anything and he doesnt understand. i feel guilty for getting tired of caring for him. i feel like no one understands how hard it is because i do such a good job of making it look easy.