7 replies to this topic

[mfawcett]

Matt called me today Very excited to tell me " I think I moved my upper leg! Just the muscle though" He was in total shock but so excited. Its been well over a year since Matt's injury (gunshot wound @T1) and he has made INCREDIBLE progress, but I just dont know how to react. Im as positive as possible and I encourage him with everything in me, but I dont want to push false hope. Not to mention I dont want to get my hopes up too high. Either way my feelings toward him dont change, but i just dont want to put either of us up too high to fall...
Is this "movement" normal, or is it just a spasm? any ideas? or any thoughts on how i Should be reacting? I feel like such a downer but i really do push him to stay positive, just scared I guess.

[Advocatewheeler]

mfawcett, on Dec 1 2009, 04:32 AM, said:

Matt called me today Very excited to tell me " I think I moved my upper leg! Just the muscle though" He was in total shock but so excited. Its been well over a year since Matt's injury (gunshot wound @T1) and he has made INCREDIBLE progress, but I just dont know how to react. Im as positive as possible and I encourage him with everything in me, but I dont want to push false hope. Not to mention I dont want to get my hopes up too high. Either way my feelings toward him dont change, but i just dont want to put either of us up too high to fall...
Is this "movement" normal, or is it just a spasm? any ideas? or any thoughts on how i Should be reacting? I feel like such a downer but i really do push him to stay positive, just scared I guess.

I am not sure about recovery, but it could be. Most likely, it is spasticity. I looked this up on this site: "Spasticity does not occur immediately following a spinal cord injury. When an injury occurs to the spinal cord, the body goes into spinal shock, and this may last several weeks. During this time changes take place to the nerve cells which control muscle activity. Once spinal shock wears off, the natural reflex which is present in everyone reappears. Spasticity is an exaggeration of the normal reflexes that occur when the body is stimulated in certain ways...." Either way, I found constant exercise and stretching helped my spasticity and recovery right after my injury more than anything else (and still is most important.) Most importantly- always keep the hope!!

Edited by Advocatewheeler, 01 December 2009 - 07:48 AM.

[guido]

Whatever your own hopes and beliefs, don't pee on his fire. Recovery is a long haul process and it needs all the positivity it can get. The brain is a very powerful yet very susceptible organ, and it takes a lot longer to go forwards than backwards with it.

If you say something doesn't exist, then it doesn't.

False hope vs reality is one of the longest standing and emotive SCI arguments running, and in the end, most people here will concede to let others live for their own beliefs.

Encourage him when he's up and be there for him when he's down, just as you would hope he would do for you if you had a business idea that he didn't necessarily think could work.

Being scared is normal. We've all been through and go through it. Working through and surviving the fear and the unknown is what makes us tougher. And you have a good network of people here who will support you with any questions or lows you might have.

Best of luck and stay strong.

[mfawcett]

Thank you for the encouragement and info! And I didnt mean like "peeing on his fire", thats a cute phrase though. I always try to encourage him and push him to do more, I just worry about getting his hopes up too high. But after deliberation, I thinks its better to have faith and worry about everything else as it comes at us. About an hour after I posted that he started having a lot of pain in his lower extremities. =( Im not sure what that means, but it kills me that all he can feel is pain. Didnt slow him down much though he got up and went to work out this morning and quad-rugby tonight.
Thank you again guys, any more advice, feel free to leave it.

[Ches]

I have a similiar feeling in my lower extremities (especially quads-the leg muscle not ppl!!).. Its like being able to clinch although the muscles arent moving.. I thought I was crazy too, but a lil over a year later Im working with therapist doing w/ gravity exercises and I find Im able to utitlize that muscle... its super weak, the signal included but its there.

What muscles is he "feeling"? I know a few w/ gravity exercises that may help... for me, I get on all fours or even lay on my stomach and my trainer will extend one of my legs and hold it up (hes doing the anti gravity lifting) and its my job to squeeze, strain, and pull that leg back down... I dont have MUCH to work with at all... just enough to prove it works but not much else,.. i suggest you have a try, or come up with something similiar to test and exercise!

[mfawcett]

Ches, on Dec 1 2009, 04:28 PM, said:

I have a similiar feeling in my lower extremities (especially quads-the leg muscle not ppl!!).. Its like being able to clinch although the muscles arent moving.. I thought I was crazy too, but a lil over a year later Im working with therapist doing w/ gravity exercises and I find Im able to utitlize that muscle... its super weak, the signal included but its there.

What muscles is he "feeling"? I know a few w/ gravity exercises that may help... for me, I get on all fours or even lay on my stomach and my trainer will extend one of my legs and hold it up (hes doing the anti gravity lifting) and its my job to squeeze, strain, and pull that leg back down... I dont have MUCH to work with at all... just enough to prove it works but not much else,.. i suggest you have a try, or come up with something similiar to test and exercise!

It s also his Quadriceps. Ill make sure he talks to his PT about the gravity excercises.

[Tetracyclone]

I find that hope is great and very healthy when I don't get too attached to a particular result. Whatever is happening in your bf's body, feeling hopeful will make more good things happen.

Disappointments are good too. They teach us better interpretation of hopeful signs.

Don't worry. Be happy.

[clayton]

Advocatewheeler, on Dec 1 2009, 08:44 AM, said:

mfawcett, on Dec 1 2009, 04:32 AM, said:

Matt called me today Very excited to tell me " I think I moved my upper leg! Just the muscle though" He was in total shock but so excited. Its been well over a year since Matt's injury (gunshot wound @T1) and he has made INCREDIBLE progress, but I just dont know how to react. Im as positive as possible and I encourage him with everything in me, but I dont want to push false hope. Not to mention I dont want to get my hopes up too high. Either way my feelings toward him dont change, but i just dont want to put either of us up too high to fall...
Is this "movement" normal, or is it just a spasm? any ideas? or any thoughts on how i Should be reacting? I feel like such a downer but i really do push him to stay positive, just scared I guess.

I am not sure about recovery, but it could be. Most likely, it is spasticity. I looked this up on this site: "Spasticity does not occur immediately following a spinal cord injury. When an injury occurs to the spinal cord, the body goes into spinal shock, and this may last several weeks. During this time changes take place to the nerve cells which control muscle activity. Once spinal shock wears off, the natural reflex which is present in everyone reappears. Spasticity is an exaggeration of the normal reflexes that occur when the body is stimulated in certain ways...." Either way, I found constant exercise and stretching helped my spasticity and recovery right after my injury more than anything else (and still is most important.) Most importantly- always keep the hope!!

I am new to this site but i can tell stay possitive please , when i was 16 car accident at t4 t5 complete and dr said 99.9 percent chance i will never walk well my mom kept saying i know for a fact she is going to walk and everytime someone said i would be in a wheelchair for ever my mom always stated no way she will... and it really kept my hopes high , well a year after i could barely move the top of my legg and i just knew it then i knew with tons of work i had hope . and i would sit there and practice real hard in my mind to pick that legg up and it worked , i showed my physical therp. and he was amazed and hooked me up to shockers to get those muscles working , and i eventually got my muscles back and started walking , my accident was in 98 and i have a hard time walking but i'm very blessed to be where i'm at so please keep yours and his hopes high b/c thats all you need .. I learned nothing is impossible NOTHING