September is National Spinal Cord Injury Awareness Month. So, here goes... In December 2007 I was the passenger in a car that hit another car. The airbag deployed but the impact was so extreme that the tendons on the backside of my spine that hold the vertebrae together were torn away from shoulder blades to tailbone. All of them. All nerves in a body that run from the brain to everywhere else gather in three clusters in no particular order. The clusters are called ganglia and are located at the neck (cervical), upper mid back (thoracic) and lower back (lumbar). My thoracic and lumbar ganglia were stretched and many nerves lost their connection. This means that the controlling signals from my brain to other body parts is interrupted. The good news is the pain signals were disrupted. Parts dont hurt, they just dont work like they used to. The following three years going back and forth to Vanderbilt yielded not too many answers. At one month in they knew it was a spinal cord injury because every day I woke up with fewer abilities than I had the day before. At six months in they proclaimed most of my internal torso nerves dead and predicted Id be in a wheelchair for life very soon. All signs and tests verified that I was a quadriplegic. It takes two years to lose all the abilities that you are going to lose with these type of injuries. In the meantime they ordered me absolutely bedridden for almost a year. Thats the only way to allow tendons to reattach to the spine. (All other tendons can be stapled but the spine is tricky.) I had to stay passively bedridden for another 2 1/2 years. It was discovered that I was born with an abnormally thick spinal cord and that was what held my vertebrae in place while the tendons were reattaching. Ive always been athletic and extremely active and had studied Pilates for a few years before the car wreck. At the three year mark I finally received an absolute diagnosis. Autonomic Dysfunction. Its an unusual high impact injury to the spine and very little is known about treating it. In a nutshell, Im a walking quadriplegic. Ya, I know, right? The Specialists (and I think I saw them ALL) credit my athleticism, Pilates, and the medical grade essential oil therapy I still receive for my abilities today. I walk, but slowly. I can care for my bodily functions but they come as a surprise with little warning so please excuse my hasty retreat to the ladies room. My body tires quickly but I can fake health in short bursts as long as you dont look too closely. I have a chronic painless migraine that affects my ability to read printed matter. (Think dyslexia of entire sentences.) Im still the same pre-injury person but I cant participate as enthusiastically as I used to. The good news is there is no pain. If you were to meet me sitting down you would never know that I have a spinal cord injury. Ill verbally spar with you as long as you want. I just wont be joining you when its time to dance on the tables any more. Im thankful that there is no pain. Pain has its place but that would add an undesirable element to my resting time. Ill take chances if pain is the only predicted outcome. No worries here! I just have to plan on being bedridden for a few weeks afterwards. Not by choice, parts just stop working. Its boring as heck but getting out is worth the risk. I know that Ive pushed my body too far when my blood pressure rises or when I pass out. Those are pretty good indicators for everybody, btw. I dont feel my internal organs but I have full skin sensation. I dont experience hunger or being full. My appendix can explode and Id never feel it. One of my kidneys started shutting down and I never felt a difference. I currently have gallbladder issues and am pleased to report that it doesnt hurt a bit. All this keeps my doctor on her toes trying to figure out when Im supposed to get to a hospital but all in all its not a huge problem. Modified diet and paying attention to the different lab strips that I use at home and Im just fine. Functional anyways. My abilities cant be predicted well enough for me to hold down even part time employment so the social aspect of life is the biggest loss. Please dont be afraid or limit your contact with someone whos suffered a spinal cord injury. They are still the people youve always known. You dont need to speak louder or exclude them from conversations or social functions. Just please dont intentionally startle or good naturedly give them a shove. Spinal cord injuries are less visible, harder to diagnose and often misunderstood. And they can happen to anyone. And now you know... 0:)
Posted on: Wed, 24 Sep 2014 03:34:45 +0000
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