Mason Branstrator’s work

the picture is unrelated to THC incident  About three weeks ago I used THC for the first time in almost 2 years. This particular evening I was feeling more down on myself than usual. I have been struggling with motivation for some time now, which hasn’t helped my confidence or my mental health. I have not been very present either.  I took the edible not expecting much. When I first started to feel the effects I wasn’t too phased I carried on with my tasks as I would any other night. Paranoid thoughts started to creep in and after a while, I said to myself. “Stop thinking these pessimistic things” then I came to a realization that most of these thoughts had some real value if I decided to use them constructively.  The pessimistic monologue mostly consisted of hating my life, which gave me a perspective on some of my less optimistic friends and the things they might be going through and thinking. It also showed me the comparison to a normal person and how much living with p...

As I floated all alone in the middle of our lake I felt so alive. I felt like there was a new sense of inner peace that has came about within me. My first thought was that everyone needed this experience. Then I thought, wait not everyone deserves this. Finally, I thought ok I guess not everyone deserves this beauty but it would surely help them to see it.  I never appreciated the beauty of the outdoors as much as I do now after my accident. In fact, after winter was over I went outside for the first time in a long time just to be there and it was completely surreal. Unfortunately, it is much harder to be outside than to stay inside because it’s uncomfortable for my body. But, swimming in my lake is both comfortable and relatively easy for me now. Also, I have no reason to stay inside with this awesome new concrete path.  My friend even said to me he thought we should get outside more when he and our other friends come over. He said “all we do is sit in your basement now” I wa...

When I was first paralyzed I wasn’t too worried about how difficult it would be to get outside, I was focused on getting back to walking and doing my therapies. The problem with working out inside was the more I did it, the more I longed to get outside to go for a run, a bike ride, or even just walk around the yard. The gap between me and the outdoors was getting bigger and bigger every day.  A large part of me only wanted to get back to the outdoors on my own terms, which at the time meant doing things how I used to. I have since acknowledged the freedom that adaptive equipment can provide me but I still keep in mind risk, not only for my fragile paralyzed body but for the protection of my shoulder's longevity.  I finally decided it was time to check out some adaptive equipment of my own. I got in touch with the courage Kenny outdoor recreation program and set up a time to get fit for a handcycle. I had a blast learning about the history of hand cycles and tried a couple out ...

  The last few weeks have been a roller coaster of emotions. I received my stem cells last Tuesday and long story short it was a mess, but I ended up getting my cells and was on my way home. After returning home I was greeted by the best possible gift I could have possibly received, a concrete path that would wrap around the house and down to the lake. It came out better than I ever could have imagined and I got all of the additions I wanted and more, a turnaround spot at the bottom of the lake, extra room on the patio in the back of the house, and room for a ramp to the side door into the garage.   I was so ecstatic about the path that I went up and down it about 10 times. I could even use my electric scooter attachment called the firefly on the path no problem! Though even without the firefly the hills are more than manageable to push up. The Duluth concrete team was the best! they got my path done in a couple weeks and in time for the 4th.  Even though I was super exci...