Spinal Network News - December 2017
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Paul J. Curry - A Lucky Break<br />
Sums Up a Life Less Ordinary<br />
Paul J. Curry is a firm believer that everything happens<br />
for a reason. At the age of 19, Curry was heading down<br />
the wrong side of the tracks before he joined the Navy<br />
in 1967. But, his fledgling career was cut short by a<br />
horrific accident.<br />
He writes: “A 400-pound weight dropping 10 feet,<br />
becomes half-a-ton per square-inch by the time it<br />
lands—and it landed on me.” Curry was talking about a<br />
bomb, which dropped from the deck above and landed<br />
on him, pinning him in a helpless position. He was lucky<br />
to be alive and lucky to survive such a devastating blow.<br />
It was a moment that would change his life forever.<br />
Curry was transferred to Middlemore Hospital, and<br />
his parents got the news that every parent dreads—<br />
via telegram back in those days—that their son was<br />
paralysed.<br />
Devastated by the doctor’s assessment, his father insisted<br />
nonetheless, that he would be the one to break the<br />
news to his boy—such was the quality of his character.<br />
Curry’s grandmother believed that his accident saved<br />
him from a life of crime. She might be right. Now, many<br />
years on from that fateful day, Curry has described the<br />
moments that have made his life, a life-less-ordinary.<br />
His book, fittingly titled A Lucky Break, is a great read.<br />
It takes you right into the heart and mind of Curry,<br />
through his journey in life with a spinal cord impairment.<br />
It is as real as it is funny, and engaging from the first page<br />
to the last.<br />
Curry said writing this book was a hugely cathartic<br />
experience: “I’m still surprised that a wayward kid from a<br />
state-housing background could have such a wonderfully<br />
satisfying and successful life.”<br />
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