A doctor who was born with a serious physical disability shares his story.

I just wrote the other day, but I was thinking of telling you more about myself so you know more about me.

My name is Dr. Wayne Wright, and as you can see by my title, I am a physician. I have been a doctor going on for over five years now; and I have gotten such gratification out of helping people live better lives or to help them through unbelievable illness or injury. I have held this dream ever since I was a small boy back in my native Mississippi because doctors played such a huge part of my growing up years.

I was born with a serious physical disability that robbed me of the ability to feel anything below my waist or to walk without the aid of Lofstrand (forearm) crutches. It has also affected me to the point to where I can't even go to the bathroom normally: I wear a catheter, and I wear a bag that has to be emptied every few hours; and I also wear adult-sized diapers for added protection (in case I should happen to have an accident). If I don't care for my personal needs right away, I can get very sick, and I can get a dangerous kidney or bladder infection that could prove to be lethal for me. I was born with a devastating birth defect that caused my spinal cord to be incompletely formed when I was still in my mother's womb; and because of it I was given the "gift" of disability. I have had many surgeries to try to correct the defects involving my spine, and I have had surgeries for other things, such as the removal of a blockage from my kidney, a blocked urethra, shunt malfunctions, scoliosis repair, and other matters that seriously compromised my health. Yet through all that I have been through, I believe that my disability has made me a much stronger (and caring) person, and it is because of the excellent care that I received that culminated my decision in becoming a doctor to help other people with their problems.

I was born the only child to Charles (in which I share his name; my full name is Charles Wayne Wright, but I have always preferred Wayne) and Rheta Wright, and as you can imagine, when they found out that their only son was born with a serious physical handicap, they were devastated. But once they got over the initial shock, and once I was through the dangerous surgeries in the early days of my life, they began helping me, and I was soon very well loved and accepted. They didn't allow me to feel sorry for myself; they strived in giving me as normal of a life as possible (between surgeries and hospitalizations), and I grew into a very happy child who never complained about his lot in life. Once I started walking on my crutches (I learned to walk at the age of three-and-a-half; before then I was carried everywhere), I proved to be unstoppable; and I still continue to move at a frenetic pace even today.

I believe one of the happiest days of my life was when I made the decision to go to medical school to become a doctor, and when I graduated four years later, my parents were there to support me. It was a dream come true for me, and I loved every minute of my doctor's training. It was also then, not long after I graduated from medical school when I first met my Sarah, my first love (who would eventually later become my wife). Now Sarah and I have been married for four years, and we have two beautiful little girls from China, SueEllen Xian (4) and the baby, Brooke Wei, who is two. They both came into our lives last year, and they have been nothing but a huge blessing in our lives. Because of my disability, we were unable to have children naturally, so this was how we ended up with two little beautiful angels from China.

Eventually we may end up adopting again. I would like to have a little boy in the family. So we may be persuing the process another time. Both Sarah and I have been discussing it, and we would like to see a son become a reality for our crew.

But in the meantime, Sarah and I can enjoy our little girls, Brooke and SueEllen.

I am not only a doctor: I am an anesthiologist. I put people to sleep prior to surgery; and it is a challenging, but very rewarding, business, especially when the patient does well during the course of their surgery or the post-op (past the operative) phase, when they are coming to in the Recovery Room. When my patients do well, I am very happy, but it is not to say that I have never have had any problems because I HAVE. Problems can crop up unexpectedly, and yes, I have unfortunately lost a few patients, but I try to put the sad cases aside and try to learn from what happened; and I go on. Still, it is never easy when we lose a patient, but I have learned to accept death as a part of the life process. And no surgery is without its risk, no matter how carefully you plan or make sure that nothing does happen because sometimes it WILL happen.

I work many long hours, and I am hardly ever home. If I am home for any extended period of time, it is always something of a miracle. I hardly see my wife or my girls; and I am sure they don't enjoy my working so many hours, but such is life when you are a doctor. I am on call all the time, and if I am needed, I have to go in..it doesn't matter if I am at the store, or in the middle of a a good book, or even asleep in my own bed in the middle of the night: if they call, I have to go in, no questions. I thrive on as little as two to three hours of sleep per night because it is something that I have grown accustomed to, and I know that I am needed, so I sleep as little as possible.

To get around at the hospital easier, I use my wheelchair (or my scooter), but if the trek is short, I just use my crutches, and for a guy with a disability, I can really move fast if I put my mind to it! I have no problems in getting around, and nothing is going to stop me. So what is a little paralysis: none of that has ever stopped me before, and it isn't about to stop me now!

(to be continued.)