by Nathaniel Lee
Community Correspondent
When Carlton Brown fell asleep behind the wheel of his car in 2019, he woke up to find himself being roused by a concerned citizen and trapped in his mangled car. His life was changed forever. After emergency medical treatment, Brown recovered but lost the use of his legs. He was paralyzed.
“In 2019, I got in a car accident that left me quadriplegic C-5,” said Brown. “It’s a spinal cord injury that left me paralyzed from the chest up,” said Brown when asked what C-5 was.
Like many who suffered similar trauma, Brown went through the phases of grief, such as disbelief, blaming God, and negotiating with God, but in the end, came the decision to make the best of his situation.
“The first two years after my accident, I was depressed. I kept asking God ‘Why me?’ One thing I often tell people is that I believed in God, but I wasn’t a believer,” said Brown. He said it was after his spiritual conversion that he began to believe that his life had a purpose. “My purpose was to be able to talk to other people who are in my condition and for them to realize that this is not the end and that they can still live a good life as a quadriplegic.”
As a married man with children, Brown’s concerns weren’t just for himself–but were compounded by the possible impact the accident would have on his family.
“My wife and I went through a lot through the first two years after my accident, just trying to separate the marriage and her [now] being someone who would have to take care of me as my caretaker,” he said.
“Once we got through that, it made things a lot easier for us,” Brown said. “I felt that it was very important to be able to separate the two: being a wife and a husband while also being that person’s caregiver. Then I thought about doing something called ‘Wheelchair Chronicles’ just speaking to others who are in the same condition as me, who are open to telling their stories and expressing their feelings about where they are right now,” he said.
Each week, Brown goes live on Instagram to produce his ‘Wheelchair Chronicles’ episodes, during which he interviews others who, like himself, have become members of what might be described as the ‘wheelchair community.’
Through these interviews, those who are confined to wheelchairs (or living with other disabilities) get to share their stories, encourage one another, talk about resources and services available to those needing them, and become part of a growing network of supportive friends.
“Everybody has a different outlook on their accident,” said Brown. “For me, talking to other people, I try to inspire them to pray about it and to find ways to, not to get over it but to learn to deal with it,” he said.
“Honestly, we’re never going to get over it. It’s always going to be in the back of our heads. We’re always going to question certain things. It’s going to be times when we are in our moods and don’t feel like being bothered.”
Brown acknowledged that it was “Okay to be in that mood, but you have to get out of it.”
How does he get out of it?
“I pray about it. I’m a man of faith. I pray constantly with my family. I, myself, didn’t overcome this. We overcame this together,” said Brown of his family.
Brown has been married for 13 years and has four children. He credits them for giving him the strength and support necessary to live a full and productive life.
“We are a big family, and we do stuff together and support each other. My wife and I try to inspire all of our children to reach whatever goals they have in their lives,” said Brown.
Alicia Brown, wife of Carlton Brown, says the transition after the accident was “hard at first.”
“We did grow closer, we try to do a lot more things together now, and we try to teach the kids to give back [to the community], a lot of the things we didn’t do when he was an able-bodied person,” she said.“Prayer made a big impact on our lives.”
This year, Wheelchair Chronicles celebrates its 5th anniversary and has inspired countless people with their messages of hope.
Wheelchair Chronicles episodes are live on Instagram each Thursday from 6 to 7:00 pm.
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