Quadriplegia/Disability

The book, "Joni" is a compelling story of a young woman who permanently loses movement from her shoulders down after a tragic diving accident. The story of the brave Joni Eareckson serves as an educational tool in understanding in vivid detail the life of a quadriplegic. It tells the long, harrowing journey that a formerly mobile person is forced to take after becoming paralyzed. Not only are the physical demands Joni must face unthinkable, it is her private thoughts, fear and anger that at times are more unbearable.

The reader learns that the trials a quadriplegic must face go far beyond just being immobile—they are multi-faceted. For example, since the quadriplegic cannot move, there are times when she must be placed in a device called a Stryker Frame. It is a canvass contraption that is flipped every two hours to avoid bedsores and to encourage...