The purpose of this narrative case study was to understand how a young man with pediatric-onset tetraplegia described his life experiences during his upper teen and young adult years. Data was obtained through two individual semi-structured interviews and observations. Interviews were conducted, recorded and transcribed by the primary investigator at the home of the participant. The participant provided information about his life including his experiences with family, friends, and healthcare providers. Six themes that emerged from the data included I always have someone with me, I'm not easily broken, I'm stubborn, I've made it the best I can make it, I'm just like everybody else, and Right now it's about me doing what I want to do. Results showed that the participant and his family viewed his experiences as typical, but they were actually rather unique. This included never being able to spend time alone, having to use adaptive equipment or transportation, and having a positive attitude about most situations including his ability to find ways to make things work.
","abstract_html":"<p>The purpose of this narrative case study was to understand how a young man with pediatric-onset tetraplegia described his life experiences during his upper teen and young adult years. Data was obtained through two individual semi-structured interviews and observations. Interviews were conducted, recorded and transcribed by the primary investigator at the home of the participant. The participant provided information about his life including his experiences with family, friends, and healthcare providers. Six themes that emerged from the data included <em>I always have someone with me, I'm not easily broken, I'm stubborn, I've made it the best I can make it, I'm just like everybody else, and Right now it's about me doing what I want to do.</em> Results showed that the participant and his family viewed his experiences as typical, but they were actually rather unique. This included never being able to spend time alone, having to use adaptive equipment or transportation, and having a positive attitude about most situations including his ability to find ways to make things work. </p>","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Yarberry, Kelsey M."],"institution":"Eastern Kentucky University","degree_name":"Master of Science (MS)","degree_level":"Master's","degree_discipline":"Occupational Science and Occupational Therapy","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":[],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2014,"date_issued":"2014-01-01T08:00:00Z","date_published":"2014-01-01T08:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T02:15:25Z","subjects":["Life Experiences","Pediatric-Onset","Spinal Cord Injury","Tetraplegia","Occupational Therapy"],"languages":[],"rights":["Copyright 2014 Kelsey M. Yarberry"],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://encompass.eku.edu/etd/229","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Yarberry, Kelsey M."]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:publisher","label":"Institution","values":["Encompass Digital Archive, Eastern Kentucky University"]},{"key":"dc:type","label":"Dc Type","values":["Master Thesis"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["Occupational Science and Occupational Therapy"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Master's"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Master of Science (MS)"]},{"key":"thesis:institution_name","label":"Thesis Institution Name","values":["Eastern Kentucky University"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["Life Experiences","Pediatric-Onset","Spinal Cord Injury","Tetraplegia","Occupational Therapy"]}]},{"id":"language_rights","label":"Language and Rights","entries":[{"key":"dc:rights","label":"Dc Rights","values":["Copyright 2014 Kelsey M. Yarberry"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://encompass.eku.edu/etd/229"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["The purpose of this narrative case study was to understand how a young man with pediatric-onset tetraplegia described his life experiences during his upper teen and young adult years. Data was obtained through two individual semi-structured interviews and observations. Interviews were conducted, recorded and transcribed by the primary investigator at the home of the participant. The participant provided information about his life including his experiences with family, friends, and healthcare providers. Six themes that emerged from the data included I always have someone with me, I'm not easily broken, I'm stubborn, I've made it the best I can make it, I'm just like everybody else, and Right now it's about me doing what I want to do. Results showed that the participant and his family viewed his experiences as typical, but they were actually rather unique. This included never being able to spend time alone, having to use adaptive equipment or transportation, and having a positive attitude about most situations including his ability to find ways to make things work.
"]},{"key":"dc:format","label":"Dc Format","values":["application/pdf"]},{"key":"dc:source","label":"Dc Source","values":["Encompass Digital Archive: Online Theses and Dissertations"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["The Description of Life Experiences of a Person with Pediatric-Onset Tetraplegia During His Upper Teen and Young Adult Years"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:creator":["Yarberry, Kelsey M."],"dc:description.abstract":["The purpose of this narrative case study was to understand how a young man with pediatric-onset tetraplegia described his life experiences during his upper teen and young adult years. Data was obtained through two individual semi-structured interviews and observations. Interviews were conducted, recorded and transcribed by the primary investigator at the home of the participant. The participant provided information about his life including his experiences with family, friends, and healthcare providers. Six themes that emerged from the data included I always have someone with me, I'm not easily broken, I'm stubborn, I've made it the best I can make it, I'm just like everybody else, and Right now it's about me doing what I want to do. Results showed that the participant and his family viewed his experiences as typical, but they were actually rather unique. This included never being able to spend time alone, having to use adaptive equipment or transportation, and having a positive attitude about most situations including his ability to find ways to make things work.
"],"dc:format":["application/pdf"],"dc:identifier":["https://encompass.eku.edu/etd/229"],"dc:publisher":["Encompass Digital Archive, Eastern Kentucky University"],"dc:rights":["Copyright 2014 Kelsey M. Yarberry"],"dc:source":["Encompass Digital Archive: Online Theses and Dissertations"],"dc:subject":["Life Experiences","Pediatric-Onset","Spinal Cord Injury","Tetraplegia","Occupational Therapy"],"dc:title":["The Description of Life Experiences of a Person with Pediatric-Onset Tetraplegia During His Upper Teen and Young Adult Years"],"dc:type":["Master Thesis"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["Occupational Science and Occupational Therapy"],"thesis:degree_level":["Master's"],"thesis:degree_name":["Master of Science (MS)"],"thesis:institution_name":["Eastern Kentucky University"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T02:15:25Z"}