NEED TO KNOW
Tyler Lawrence’s life looks radically different than it did just two years ago
Last year, the 34-year-old Alabama native was hospitalized and placed on a ventilator after he relapsed
Lawrence — who has grown a following on TikTok for sharing his experience as a quadriplegic — tells PEOPLE why he feels his life has “more opportunity” than ever
Tyler Lawrence’s life looks radically different than it did just two years ago.
Last year, the 34-year-old Alabama native — who has struggled with addiction for two decades — relapsed, leading to a brutal fight and a broken neck. He was hospitalized and placed on a ventilator. He even started saying goodbye to his friends and family.
Lawrence ultimately survived the harrowing incident — but not without complications. Now a quadriplegic, he requires around-the-clock care, sees a host of doctors, and often takes two hours just to get out of bed. But Lawrence — who has grown a following on TikTok for sharing his experience as a quadriplegic— tells PEOPLE in an interview that, despite his disability, he has “more opportunity” than ever before.
It was actually Lawrence’s sister, Jaye Rogers, who had the idea to turn his pain into inspiration online.
Though Rogers, 35, had a stable job, a husband, and two young daughters, when she learned that her brother needed a caretaker, she knew there was only one option: “I decided, with the help of my husband, that I was gonna just drop my life, quit my job and move away from him to come take care of my brother,” she tells PEOPLE.
While Lawrence was still in intensive rehab for his injury, Rogers had a feeling that his journey was worth documenting and suggested they turn on the camera. They started their TikTok account, sweetly named Rollio & Juliet.
“I said, ‘Dude, your story is so powerful, and if this is the reason why you stay sober, you will be an inspiration to so many because it literally took this to make you see the light,’ ” she remembers.
Their videos showed the everyday challenges of life in a wheelchair, often featuring Lawrence’s dark humor, and they quickly took off. Now, their comments and DMs are flooded with messages from other wheelchair users or recovering addicts who found meaning in their story.
“It’s part of the reason why it means so much to me to do it,” says Lawrence of the positive feedback. “It’s just amazing to see what a little bit of happiness we bring people.”
Continues the creator: “Feels like I’ve had more opportunity from the chair than I’ve had before the chair.”
The future remains uncertain for Lawrence and Rogers, but the pair know that Rogers cannot live at her dad’s house with her brother forever.
“The goal is to get him as independent as possible before I leave,” she tells PEOPLE. Over time, they’ve worked to shift responsibilities, preparing him for that eventual day.
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Still, Rogers remains hopeful — not that he’ll one day live an independent life, but that he’ll continue to find meaning through it all.
“God gave me several chances, literally,” he says. “He’s still kept me around for a reason.”
Read the original article on People
‘ The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties ’
‘ Some details of this article were extracted from the following source uk.style.yahoo.com ’
