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 Posted Wednesday, June 16, 2010 |
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Group: Forum Members
Last Login: Wednesday, July 14, 2010
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I am 29 yrs post accident with Brown Sequard SCI. I have always had problems with mucsle clonis and spasticiity. I was part of the Study for the MRI and had surgery with Dr. Harry Hahn at Craig before he passed away. Life has been very fullfilling. you have to have an attitude of not being handicapped but being "handi-capable". You can do anything you set your mind to do. As I get older, I wonder if there are many people out there with this many yrs after their accident. I wonder if there are similar issues we can share and then help others.
Dave
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| Posted Tuesday, June 22, 2010 |
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Group: Forum Members
Last Login: Tuesday, November 09, 2010
Posts: 254,
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hi Dave, welcome to the forum. I think we could all benefit from hearing one another's experience. Ultimately, that's what this forum is about. And 30 years experience sure gives you lots of experience to share. I know that because I am 30 years post accident! Just keep reading the posts and weigh-in whenever you want to share.
Thanks
Daniel Gottlieb Ph.D
www.drdangottlieb.com
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| Posted Wednesday, September 01, 2010 |
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Group: Forum Members
Last Login: Tuesday, January 11, 2011
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| Well, I'm 20yrs. 3 month post car wreck. I have a few good stories and a few bad one. But most need too be asked as I don't really think about them much. Just life. I fell out the back window of a car on my 18th birthday as it was flipping through a ditch end over end.
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| Posted Tuesday, September 07, 2010 |
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Group: Forum Members
Last Login: Tuesday, November 09, 2010
Posts: 254,
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Hi Dave,
I love your idea of using our experience to help others.
this December will be my 31st year and I have noticed some changes physically that I will mention later. But what's interesting to me was the emotional ramifications of being in this territory. Over the last three or four years I have had many experiences of going to doctors with various symptoms and having them say they don't know what's happening and that "maybe this is what happens to bodies after 30 years post injury."
So here I am with doctors not knowing what's happening to my body. So now I feel like I am entering new territory that provokes questions like whether various symptoms or discomfort is about being 30 years post or being 64 years old! What symptoms will get worse, what will I have to live with, and what should I aggressively pursue treatment for?
But as I think about it, this really isn't new territory. The emotions are very similar to the ones I felt 30 years ago. Back then I asked questions about whether quadriplegics worked full-time or do they need more rest than others. Would I ever be able to go out in the evening and would it be okay to cancel something in short notice if I didn't feel well and what I always be cold, have terrible spasms, have frequent dysreflexia? All questions no one could answer but time and me.
So these kinds of things can make us feel pretty alone in this world as there are few if any have gone down this path before us and here we go with few kindred spirits and no roadmap.
And then I got thinking. I'm no biblical scholar, but I love some of the allegories. So I got to thinking about Adam and Eve and how they might have felt when their father told them it was time to get out and function on their own. Probably similar feelings to mine. And then there is Abraham who was told to leave what he had done his whole life and Jesus who was on a path no one had ever walked before. But before I get too heady with these parallels, I want to talk about Jake.
Jacob Daniel Rice is one of my dearest friends. He is also two years old. When he was one and pulling himself to his feet holding on to furniture or people's leg, I know he would take that first step any moment. And when he did, I was fortunate enough to be there and witnessed something I had never seen before (I was working when my daughters took their first steps).
So there he was having pulled himself up by someone leg, he let go. Realizing he was standing by himself, he reached out to his mother's hand. But instead of grabbing his, she stood a little bit beyond his grasp. And there he stood there not quite knowing what to do. He began to sit down on the floor but said stood up before his bottom made contact. He did this several times but never sat down, always stood out and reached out. And finally he took that step! It was about five or 10 minutes that felt like the most dramatic show I'd ever seen. This one year old did the same thing we all do -- release our grasp on the past and go forward without a roadmap.
Dave, people like you and me and so many others don't release our grasp of the past, we have it pulled away from us against our will but I must tell you, this new territory feels very familiar to me. And when I referred to the spiritual implications, I meant that life seems a little bit more precious to me this year than it did last. I think my love for people has grown more over these last couple of years and I think the number of people I love has also grown. My life also feels a bit more fragile, but I think they go hand in hand.
If you're still reading, I promise to tell you about my symptoms. My autonomic nervous system is unstable now. I had a pacemaker or a couple of years ago and my blood pressure fluctuates quite a bit with the slightest stimulation. My bladder care as become even more demanding and my infections are more frequent and I envision surgery and my not-too-distant future.
Daniel Gottlieb Ph.D
www.drdangottlieb.com
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| Posted Tuesday, September 14, 2010 |
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Group: Forum Members
Last Login: Tuesday, September 14, 2010
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I have 29 years in. I broke my neck in a swimming pool diving through an innertube in 1981. I have Browns Sequard with limited movement on my right side and can not feel hot/cold on my left. It is getting tougher to get around but I am still fighting the fight. There are days when I think this is it. I am tired. But I keep coming up with sayings to motivate myself.
I aspire to inspire.
I am thinking sometimes the fight gets tiring but I will not allow myself to tire from the fight!
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| Posted Wednesday, September 15, 2010 |
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Group: Forum Members
Last Login: Wednesday, September 15, 2010
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I am 30 years plus months of a multiple gunshot wound. I try to stay heathly, exercise and try to eat right. Although you wonder if some of the symptoms we experience are related to getting older or being in a chair. It would be intresting to see a study on the effects of our body as we age in the chair. If anyone knows of such a study please let me know.
Terri
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| Posted Tuesday, September 21, 2010 |
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Group: Forum Members
Last Login: Tuesday, November 09, 2010
Posts: 254,
Visits: 50
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there is a doctor at Craig Hospital who talks about long-term effects of spinal cord injury, but from what I've read, it's pretty general and non-specific. I don't know if this is the appropriate place or if there should be another forum, but I am inclined to agree that it would be great if all of us could get together and share changes we are experiencing.
Personally, I have noticed changes in stamina, balance and blood pressure regulation. You?
Daniel Gottlieb Ph.D
www.drdangottlieb.com
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