May 11, 2009
Local Artist Tom Hartman featured on Carolina Traveler
Liz Vinson
CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- I got an e-mail from Tab Glenham telling me about his friend Tom. Tom had a great life. Wife, kids, grandkids, good job. Everything we're taught to associate "a great life" with. But one day Tom started to limp. Out of nowhere. He just felt a strange sensation in his leg and couldn't quite walk normally.
The limp led to difficulty walking at all, which led to less and less function in all his limbs. A decade after he started limping Tom lost all muscular function below his neck. For 12 years now he's lived in a bed. Tom is a quadriplegic. It's these stories that remind me how easy my life is. If I open my mouth and utter one complaint about anything at all, Tom should have the right to order his wife to punch me right in the gut and tell me to quit my whining. And Lois can pack a wallop, trust me. Tom has Multiple Sclerosis. He's as sharp as a tack mentally -- funny, creative, engaging but being bed-ridden for a dozen years can suck the joy out of life for anyone. Tom's life still existed, the wife and family and friends, but he was on the outside looking in. He couldn't participate like he used to. His career in the printing industry ended, his passion for water color painting had to dry up. His life was pretty much gone on so many levels Tom didn't recognize it. (read more at Carolina Traveler)
Story courtesy of Carolina Traveler at wcnc.com