Name: Shawnique Cotton, Ms. Wheelchair Arizona 2019

City: Tucson

Explanation of Brain Injury:  I sustained a spinal cord injury 28 years ago due to being shot in my back. I was told for 20 years that I was a level T-2 paraplegic. Meanwhile, I never functioned like one as I had no other health issues. I knew this was incorrect and I suffered from something, an invisible illness in my head. I’m just realizing this as I’m writing. For 20 years I’ve asked multiple doctors what’s wrong with me: I get dizzy, extreme fatigue, noise, light, stress everything seems to make me unable to function. I was bed ridden for years and homebound for the majority of my injury. My only outings and relationships were mainly with my doctors. All the doctors would brush it off no one ever really listened to this day no one listens. So I’ve accepted I’m in this alone. I discovered that I was actually a C7 quadriplegic with functional hands in arms in 2009 which made me wonder about my brain. I also was diagnosed with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome Myalgic Encephalitis (CFS/ME) not long after this discovery. I never connected what I go through and I am so grateful for the opportunity to make my mask and become a part of the Unmasking Brain Injury Arizona project, a great initiative. I’m tearing up as I write this. I’ve been confused & partly in denial but glad I now have connected the dots. I’M ON A MISSION!!