WATCH: 21-year-old accident victim shows how she handles daily tasks with only one hand
After 20 years of living a normal life, Miss Manon Slomkowski had to re-learn some of the most basic daily routines all over again.
Photo: Facebook
On March 21, 2014, the 20-year-old was involved in a serious motorcycle accident in Nanterre, near Paris, that caused her to suffer from brachial plexus palsy, an injury that damaged four out of the five nerves needed to control her left arm.
"The nerves are connected directly to the cervical spinal cord. In my case, I only have a small part of one nerve out of the five; the rest are completely dead."
Now, one year on, Miss Slomkowski, 21, posted a video of herself on YouTube and on Facebook to show how she dresses, puts make-up on, does her hair, cuts her own nails and a few more normal chores that most people would find extremely difficult to do with just one hand.
She may be getting on with her life, but she still faces situations she doesn't know how to handle. She also gets the occasional neuropathic pain, where people who have had their limbs amputated or are paralysed still feel pain.
"What's been the most difficult, and still is today is how to bear the neuropathic pain, also known as 'phantom limb pain'. This kind of pain is very difficult to manage and some people are completely unable to bear it. But there are techniques to help us relieve this pain. Most of the times, I can manage it, so I’m OK."
Every day, she tells herself that she should never stop living her life.
"I am teaching myself every day how to support myself, how to find solutions," she told the Huffington Post."I have always hated somebody else helping me do something or doing it for me. This encouraged me to make an effort to support myself."
She believes that anybody who's been through any from of accident should "be happy and fight for your lives because you still have the chance to see tomorrow".
Sources: Huffington Post, APlus
Get The New Paper on your phone with the free TNP app. Download from the Apple App Store or Google Play Store now