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For Kiesha Mastrodimos, the years since her injury have been a cycle of rebirth. After becoming a quadriplegic as a teenager, she’s been one unstoppable female. Now a longtime popular content creator and an illustrator, her creativity knows no bounds. Read on for her story.
A Sudden Injury
In November 2013, while driving home from babysitting in her hometown of Alberta, Canada, Kiesha and her friend hit a moose. The moose landed on their car, with Kiesha breaking her neck as a result. When the doctor told her she was a quadriplegic, both she and her mom were stunned. “We had never heard of a ‘quadriplegic,” she says, “so we took to Youtube to figure out who these people are.”
And this is was when Kiesha’s life changed forever. She began to see what quadriplegics of her level could and couldn’t do. “And with that, I wanted to help other people who were injured. I want to show them there is still hope and that you are able to have a good and normal life.” She began making videos 8 months post-injury. Kiesha and her mother Marilyn recorded her first video 8 months after her injury. It was titled, “First Time on Hands C5-6 Incomplete Quadriplegic.
Giving Back
After becoming a content creator in 2014, Kiesha has made hundreds of videos and many have received hundreds of thousands of views. From her core balancing/exercise program for a C5-6 incomplete quadriplegic to her transfer videos, her videos are extremely helpful, inspiring and they’re a blast to watch. Her video showing how she goes tubing down a river encapsulates this perfectly.
But one of her most popular videos remains her injury story. She’s also shown everyday life activities like how she takes off her shoes, how she chops potatoes, how she blow dries her hair, plucks her eyebrows and a fun one – a tour of her accessible apartment.
Since her injury, Kiesha has also enrolled in undergrad, studying psychology, and she’s explored her artistic side and has become an illustrator, creating illustrations for children and publishing stunning coloring books for people of all ages. And in 2024, she published a humorous memoir, Things You Shouldn’t Say to Someone in a Wheelchair, chronicling the funny random things strangers have told her since her injury.
And leave you with Kiesha’s advice for anyone who’s newly injured: “It’s okay to have bad days. When you’re down because you don’t think you’re making progress, don’t look back at yesterday. Look back further than that. You will surprise yourself at just how far you’ve truly come. You have one life; live it up. You are the only determiner of your destiny.”
PS from Kiesha to Her People:
“I would like to add is a HUGE shoutout to my amazing, courageous, loving mom, Marilyn. You are my hero, my idol. The strength you continue to have, after everything you have endured is beyond admirable. You are incredible.
Thanks to my brothers, Tyson, Levi, Jesse, and Seth and mom’s wonderful boyfriend, Ryan, you guys give me strength when I am down. Thanks for always having my back and thank you for absolutely everything you have done for me, even emptying my pee bag ?. Love you guys so much.
As well as my lovely family, friends, home care ladies, physio and occupational therapists, Dan Passey and everyone I have met along this journey, wouldn’t trade it for the world. Thanks to all that continue to support me as I travel along this road.”
– Kiesha’s Facebook Page: Kiesha’s Road to Recovery
ideas@spinalpedia.com
