Well.....i never saw myself posting on here.....but i guess who did?

Im 38 years old and my best friend is 22. Strange? Well i was his football coach......met him when he was 11 and helped bring him up through football.....and he grew into my best adult friend.

Last week (7 days ago) he fel from a 4th floor window. He had been drinking and was fooling around with friends.

He fell to concrete and is lucky to be alive.

Better than that....he didnt hit his head and is 100% ok 'up top' and didnt hurt his legs.

Amazing. Truly amazing. However he must have landed on his backside because he has smashed several vertebrae in his lower spine.....i think L1 - L5...maybe one higher up..?

He was treated immediatley locally and transferred by air to a specialist unit that day and was operated to stabilise the spine the following day.......

Surgery was successful...in terms of repairing the bones.

His is currently paralysed from the waist down but, after 7 days he has been able to move his thigh bones together slightly (Immediately after the op), has some feeling in legs, although minimal. He can feel his penis and can feel himself passing wind, but no real movement in his legs at all other than what is mentioned.

We are eternally grateful for what he has now. Dont get me wrong if he stays this way we will be grateful for his life, but i want to know what we could expect from now on?

How much improvement can we hope for?

Does anyone have any experiences similar to this in terms of accidents, injury or recovery?

Any help, encouragement or advice would be so gratefully recieved.

Thank you so much

Tobi

Hi Tobi,
Sorry to say it but every injury & every person is different, any movement &/or feeling is a good sign this early but that may be all he has, he’s not going to be better over night its just a waiting game from here on in, months even years.
One thing for sure things will probably get a lot harder before they get better & his final recovery will depend on him.

Hope good things lay ahead
All the best
CR

I completely second what CR said. The only thing to add is he will need a lot of support during his rehab time and afterward. Make sure you are there for him when he needs it. He will have plenty of ups and downs and plenty of bad days, don't take it personally!

It generally takes about two months for the swelling in the spinal cord to go down. About that time he'll notice some changes and the doctors will have to make adjustments in his meds. After that, changes usually come slowly, if at all. My surgeon said anything that doesn't return in one year probably isn't going to. Still, as has been mentioned, everyone is different.

The hardest thing, as a friend, is to avoid expectations. Encourage him to make the most of what function he has left and don't focus on what's been lost. If it comes back, great. If not, we're here for him and can help with the every day stuff. Keep us posted on his progress. He's still got a long way to go.