19 replies to this topic

[ForJordan]

My 18 year old cousin, Jordan, was injured in a car accident yesterday in which he was a passenger in a vehicle and ejected from the car. He started with 20 lbs of traction and then had surgery to repair the bones - they put a plate in the front and screws in the back to avoid more injury to the spinal cord. Right now they are saying his injury is to the c5-c6 and his spinal cord was compromised. After 6 hours of surgery the doctor came back and said that T1-T2 were also fractured, but that would heal itself. I was there yesterday with my aunt and uncle and it felt like everyone was walking around the fact that he may never walk again. Now reading up on injuries to this area , I'm finding that in addition to never walking he may not have use of his hands? I understand that as of now it is a waiting game and each injury is different, but we have so much hope and maybe too much that we may just be disappointed later. They are going to start therapy today already. I want to be a good support for my aunt - this is her only child and Jordan is like a brother to me. Can anyone tell me what to expect the next couple of days? This morning the nurse said he moved his left foot!!! With injuries to the cord at this level, is there a chance that he will be able to use his hands or to even walk again? Just because the spinal cord was injured does that mean that he WILL be paralysed or does it mean that there is a chance? If he is paralysed will he be able to have children some day? What are the complications with paralysis that we need to be concerned about? I read something about SCI - what is that? What can we expect with recovery and therapy? How long will he be in the hospital? Are there any questions we should be asking the doctors now? The doctors have answered these, but it would be nice to hear from others in similar situations. Any information is helpful.... please be truthful as we feel the doctors are sugar coating things. Is there anyone with injury to the C5-C6 that can tell me their story. I'm desperate for answers and encouragement. Thanks a bunch

[Scribbler]

ForJordan, on Jan 13 2010, 03:08 PM, said:

My 18 year old cousin, Jordan, was injured in a car accident yesterday in which he was a passenger in a vehicle and ejected from the car. He started with 20 lbs of traction and then had surgery to repair the bones - they put a plate in the front and screws in the back to avoid more injury to the spinal cord. Right now they are saying his injury is to the c5-c6 and his spinal cord was compromised. After 6 hours of surgery the doctor came back and said that T1-T2 were also fractured, but that would heal itself. I was there yesterday with my aunt and uncle and it felt like everyone was walking around the fact that he may never walk again. Now reading up on injuries to this area , I'm finding that in addition to never walking he may not have use of his hands? I understand that as of now it is a waiting game and each injury is different, but we have so much hope and maybe too much that we may just be disappointed later. They are going to start therapy today already. I want to be a good support for my aunt - this is her only child and Jordan is like a brother to me. Can anyone tell me what to expect the next couple of days? This morning the nurse said he moved his left foot!!! With injuries to the cord at this level, is there a chance that he will be able to use his hands or to even walk again? Just because the spinal cord was injured does that mean that he WILL be paralysed or does it mean that there is a chance? If he is paralysed will he be able to have children some day? What are the complications with paralysis that we need to be concerned about? I read something about SCI - what is that? What can we expect with recovery and therapy? How long will he be in the hospital? Are there any questions we should be asking the doctors now? The doctors have answered these, but it would be nice to hear from others in similar situations. Any information is helpful.... please be truthful as we feel the doctors are sugar coating things. Is there anyone with injury to the C5-C6 that can tell me their story. I'm desperate for answers and encouragement. Thanks a bunch

Hello For Jordan. As he was only injured yesterday, no one, not even the Dr's can say anything for certain. You are going through a bad time and may fear the worst.
You will have to be patient and supportive. It takes a long time for his body to recover from this trauma.

Keep us updated.

Mike

[Apparelyzed]

Whilst it's very difficult to give a long term prognosis, the fact that he can move his foot 24hrs after his accident is promising.

Now, it could be that is all he regains, however, with movement so soon after his injury, it's very possible he could regain more, but only time will tell. It's a waiting game with incomplete injuries, and loads of physiotherapy will be needed for him to maximise his potential recovery.

SCI = Spinal Cord Injury

Incomplete spinal cord injuries - there's some info here: http://www.apparelyz.../paralysis.html

Even if he doesn't regain any more function, with todays fertility treatments, it's very possible to have children, I had my daughter 7 years after my injury, and I'm a C5/6 motor complete.

Regards

Simon.

[ForJordan]

Quote

Hello For Jordan. As he was only injured yesterday, no one, not even the Dr's can say anything for certain. You are going through a bad time and may fear the worst.
You will have to be patient and supportive. It takes a long time for his body to recover from this trauma.

Keep us updated.

Mike

Will do - thanks for the comment

Apparelyzed, on Jan 13 2010, 08:38 AM, said:

Whilst it's very difficult to give a long term prognosis, the fact that he can move his foot 24hrs after his accident is promising.

Now, it could be that is all he regains, however, with movement so soon after his injury, it's very possible he could regain more, but only time will tell. It's a waiting game with incomplete injuries, and loads of physiotherapy will be needed for him to maximise his potential recovery.

SCI = Spinal Cord Injury

Incomplete spinal cord injuries - there's some info here: http://www.apparelyz.../paralysis.html

Even if he doesn't regain any more function, with todays fertility treatments, it's very possible to have children, I had my daughter 7 years after my injury, and I'm a C5/6 motor complete.

Regards

Simon.

Thank you Simon for the hope. I will check out the site given. I really appreciate your comments.

[SandieT]

Hi - Just to let you know I am thinking of you and your family at this difficult time.
Like the others have said it is very very early days, and things will probably change on a daily basis for quite a while yet.
I know you want to know how long everything is going to take, but nobody in the medical profession ever commits to timescales or level of recovery when things like this happen, they can't, because they don't know themselves yet, because every single person is different, every injury slightly different.
Everything will being to get clearer as the days and weeks and months go on.
You will need to learn to be very patient. You probably have a million questions going on in your head at the moment, (write the questions down as you think of them if that helps, because the minute you speak to a doctor or nurse your mind just goes blank and you forget everything you wanted to ask.)
You will hang on every word the Doctors/nurses tell you and promptly forget everything they said the minute they walk out the door, but then gradually everthing they said starts to come back to you and you have a whole load more questions.
It sounds like you are a very close family, and you are all at the start of a very long road, but you will get there.
I have only recently found this forum but there is so much information on this site which will answer so many of your questions, there are a lot of good people here who talk so much sense and will tell you it as it is. So keep reading and listening.
Just stay strong and positive and never give up hope. Whatever the outcome it is you his family and friends which will help to get him through this.
Thinking of all.
Sandie
(PS Don't forget to eat! - Cos you will.)

[hooplady]

Hi ForJordan,
Right now is the darkest time...your cousin and his family have a lot to absorb and learn and it won't come overnight.

Believe it or not, the most important question is not "will he walk again" or "will he use his hands" but "will he have a happy and productive life." Which body parts heal, or don't heal, is up to fate. It's most important that he has support and love from all around so that he can get his mind wrapped around this huge change in his life. In my feeble experience, that takes longer than the physical part, but is the most important to his success or failure.

On this site you will meet many participants who are C5-C6 or higher, or lower injuries with other complications, who have lives that are so full they put us able-bodied people to shame!

Take a deep breath, reassure your cousin that he's still the same guy he was before this happened, and come by here as often as you need to for support and information.

Good luck!

-Janet
(oh yeah - what Sandie said - don't forget to eat!)

Edited by hooplady, 13 January 2010 - 09:49 PM.

[ForJordan]

Thanks for the support. His parents are hopeful - he was able to move his left leg today when asked and he is able to tell which position his right leg is in when the nurse positions it. Promising. I will continue to think about what was said - it's not about what body part will or won't work again - I will try to think about him leading a productive and positive life.

He has a long road ahead of him and yes our family is very close so hopefully that will help. I can't help but feel lots of anger against the 20 year old who was drinking and chose to drive that night. Jordan made the decision to get in the car with her and that's his problem, but she caused the accident and walks away with some broken bones and soar muscles. My family is okay with it and even let her come visit - you can't change what happened I know and she has to live with it, but I am still angry. (i'm sure that's normal too).

Thanks for the support again and I will come back often as I think and pray for my cousin. I'm not a petient person, but I need to be for my aunt and uncle. Talking about it seems to be helping. Thanks again

[SandieT]

Anger and many other emotions you are probably feeling right now are a normal reaction, along with the "What if's......" What if he hadn't got in the car?? What if.... ?What if....? Try not to dwell on the anger and what if's, use all your energy to support your cousin. These things happen, nobody made him get in the car, your aunt and uncle obviously realise this by allowing her to visit. (They sound amazing people!)
Like you said she has to live with that forever.
The only way I could describe how I felt following my son's accident was an overwhelming sense of grief for what my son had lost.

Stay strong and just keep coming back here as often as you need.

[greybeard]

ForJordan, on Jan 13 2010, 10:11 PM, said:

Thanks for the support. His parents are hopeful - he was able to move his left leg today when asked and he is able to tell which position his right leg is in when the nurse positions it. Promising. I will continue to think about what was said - it's not about what body part will or won't work again - I will try to think about him leading a productive and positive life.

He has a long road ahead of him and yes our family is very close so hopefully that will help. I can't help but feel lots of anger against the 20 year old who was drinking and chose to drive that night. Jordan made the decision to get in the car with her and that's his problem, but she caused the accident and walks away with some broken bones and soar muscles. My family is okay with it and even let her come visit - you can't change what happened I know and she has to live with it, but I am still angry. (i'm sure that's normal too).

Thanks for the support again and I will come back often as I think and pray for my cousin. I'm not a petient person, but I need to be for my aunt and uncle. Talking about it seems to be helping. Thanks again

OK so why did you refer to him as "my little brother" in another thread?

How come he's both your cousin and your brother?

[Beautiful]

She said they were really close & he is like a brother to her. Maybe she just calls him both. Of course I could be totally wrong, but I usually call my cousin my niece because of the age difference

[ForJordan]

Quote

OK so why did you refer to him as "my little brother" in another thread?

How come he's both your cousin and your brother?

Sorry for the inconsistancy, my cousin is an only child. I'm 29 and he is 18. I used to babysit him just about every weekend from the time he was very little. His mother is my daughters god mother. My cousin means a lot to me and I do say that he is like a little brother - means more to me than just a cousin. I guess I wanted to stress how important he was to me.

[ForJordan]

So...

As of this morning he moved both of his legs! First he moved one leg when asked to and then this morning he moved the other one. His accident was early Tuesday and he had a 6 hour surgery that night and already he is moving his legs!! Is this a good sign? He came back from surgery without a respirator and still has not needed one - that's good right?

They have him in a back and neck brace and he sat in a wheel chair for awhile, but said his butt hurt. Apparently they removed bone from his hip to place in his neck to help bone grow together (the surgeon never mentioned this). Should he still be in a halo?

They are probably going to be moving him out of the NICU already today. His blood pressure is 100 - and they said that is good for people with this type of injury and the other number is 60 which is good (I know nothing about blood presure and what it should be, but nurses said it was good). He will be going to the rehab floor. The social worker showed them the gym yesterday.

Yes, my aunt and uncle are pretty forgiving to let this girl visit - they don't even know her and my cousin barely knows her. I am not so forgiving and hope that I don't run into her because I will have a lot of not so nice words for her. Jordan did admit that they were drinking and she was pretty drunk. Won't there be some kind of punishment. She was driving and now he has to live each day by day and wonder if he will ever be the same again. I hope she won't get away with this - but would't the police be issueing a ticket and fine by now? Sorry I am dwelling on her being punished and not my cousin's recovery.

As far as legal aspects. My aunt and uncle are very concerned with Jordan right now. Is there any advice I can give them as to taking care of the other end of things - insurance, FMLA, do they need a lawyer,ect. any advice there?

Sorry for the millions of questions. I just had a baby a month ago and along with 2 other kids I am forced to stay at home for a good portion of the day instead of being with him and my aunt and uncle. I can't stop thinking about him and wanting to help. This site has really helped me in getting answers and feeling more informed about what may lie ahead. Thanks everyone.

[Apparelyzed]

With regards to the Brother/Cousin confusion, please refer to my reply here: http://www.apparelyz...h...st&p=145589

Regards

Simon.

[ForJordan]

Sorry to hear that people are so cruel. It's sad to think that you even had to doubt me.

Saw Jordan yesterday - he can move his left leg and move it very well. He can flex his wrist when you hold up his arm. They moved him to a different wing of the hospital where they will begin rehab.

The head of the SCI rehad unit has done much research on these type of injuries. There is some testing in stem cell research that he has studied and there is something that they can try with Jordan. I guess it is like an MRI. Has anyone heard of this new procedure that they are now doing in the US?

I'll keep everyone posted as we are very hopeful and Jordan is too.

[DannyR]

I am new to this chat room and entered because I am very confused about what happened to me. My wife has taken very good care of me and am lucky in so many ways because my doctors skated around my questions when i first had my surgery simply because they didn't know how things would turn out. Christmas of 2008 I got a stiff neck that wouldn't go away and my Doctor at the time didn't do X-Rays he only told me I had Wry Neck and said the cause of what was going on was because I drove a forklift for a living. The truth was I had 2 ruptured discs between C-5 and C6 and C-6 and C-7 and they protuded in a way that was putting pressure on my spinal cord. This went on for about 6 weeks and I was finally hospitalized after I went for a carpal tunnel test because I wasn't able to hold a glass of water and was not able to walk into the hospital for the exam. The person doing the exam was a neurosurgeon and pretty much knew right away after looking at my MRI what the problem was and had me admitted. I am able to walk but had a lot of therapy to help build the strength in my right leg. Ihad to do a lot therapy on my hands and they work pretty good but I do have a lot of trouble with my fingers. They are numb all the time some days worse than others and very stiff.Using my hands is difficult to say the least but you learn to deal with these things. I walk with a cane although there are days I can't hardly get out of bed. There are so many things that change it's hard to say what to expect. I was an outdoor person rode ATV, camped at least 2 weekends a month in the summer and deercamp and loved to hunt and fish. I still go camping and hunting and fishing but it is very different for me now. Depression is problem but I think it's because I don't understand I didn't even know that I am considered quadrapelic until I seen it on a doctor order for some tests I was taking. The best thing you can do for your cousin is be there and be supportive. Don't treat him differently than you did he knows he has problems things going on he probably won't even tell you about some of the stuff. Time will tell how much he regains and no one will probably say to much about his recovery for a few months anyway. Make sure he asks questions about things he doesn't understand. I never thought I was not going to be handicapped the rest of my life but here I am. Good luck to you and your family.

[ForJordan]

DannyR, on Jan 18 2010, 10:06 PM, said:

I am new to this chat room and entered because I am very confused about what happened to me. My wife has taken very good care of me and am lucky in so many ways because my doctors skated around my questions when i first had my surgery simply because they didn't know how things would turn out. Christmas of 2008 I got a stiff neck that wouldn't go away and my Doctor at the time didn't do X-Rays he only told me I had Wry Neck and said the cause of what was going on was because I drove a forklift for a living. The truth was I had 2 ruptured discs between C-5 and C6 and C-6 and C-7 and they protuded in a way that was putting pressure on my spinal cord. This went on for about 6 weeks and I was finally hospitalized after I went for a carpal tunnel test because I wasn't able to hold a glass of water and was not able to walk into the hospital for the exam. The person doing the exam was a neurosurgeon and pretty much knew right away after looking at my MRI what the problem was and had me admitted. I am able to walk but had a lot of therapy to help build the strength in my right leg. Ihad to do a lot therapy on my hands and they work pretty good but I do have a lot of trouble with my fingers. They are numb all the time some days worse than others and very stiff.Using my hands is difficult to say the least but you learn to deal with these things. I walk with a cane although there are days I can't hardly get out of bed. There are so many things that change it's hard to say what to expect. I was an outdoor person rode ATV, camped at least 2 weekends a month in the summer and deercamp and loved to hunt and fish. I still go camping and hunting and fishing but it is very different for me now. Depression is problem but I think it's because I don't understand I didn't even know that I am considered quadrapelic until I seen it on a doctor order for some tests I was taking. The best thing you can do for your cousin is be there and be supportive. Don't treat him differently than you did he knows he has problems things going on he probably won't even tell you about some of the stuff. Time will tell how much he regains and no one will probably say to much about his recovery for a few months anyway. Make sure he asks questions about things he doesn't understand. I never thought I was not going to be handicapped the rest of my life but here I am. Good luck to you and your family.

Wow! Sorry to hear about your difficulties and depression. It's amazing that you have come here and are offering me (and his family) encouragement and advice. It is very easy to see what was lost and what will be given up. Can a happy and productive life be achieved when disability is staring you in the face? How does one help someone in your shoes feel better? feel encouraged? not feel depressed? understand and accept what has happened? Are there some positives you can share? Will the pain of the injury ever go away?

I think we (the family) are coming to realize that Jordan will be disabled now too. Before, each day when he showed improvments it was like it was going to get all better and he would return to the life he had. Now, I think he is realizing that this is not the case. We didn't know he was considered that either until it was written on the release papers as "unable to sign because of quadraplegia." It's such a scary word isn't it?

We are very lucky that this was the only injury. Jordan was released and now is across the hall where they receive their rehad. He will do three hours of occupational and physical therapy a day. He hates being in the chair and would much rather be in bed - not sure why? He moves his shoulders and wrists and sqeezed my aunt's hand with his left hand. He even moved his pointer finger on his left hand. Very happy about that. We watched MurderBall yesterday and it made me sad to think that my 18 year old cousin may be experiencing this life change. I really worry about how he will handle this. One guy on there said he attempted suicide twice! I want to help him best I can. Are there any other movies that he could watch to help him understand. He won't be getting counseling for awhile yet and I think seeing it helps be able to talk about it more?

Thanks for listening - I know I can write a lot. I find that a majority of my time is spent thinking about him. In fact (on a funny note) my husband and I were in a moment last night and I almost called him by my cousins name.

DannyR, on Jan 18 2010, 10:06 PM, said:

I am new to this chat room and entered because I am very confused about what happened to me. My wife has taken very good care of me and am lucky in so many ways because my doctors skated around my questions when i first had my surgery simply because they didn't know how things would turn out. Christmas of 2008 I got a stiff neck that wouldn't go away and my Doctor at the time didn't do X-Rays he only told me I had Wry Neck and said the cause of what was going on was because I drove a forklift for a living. The truth was I had 2 ruptured discs between C-5 and C6 and C-6 and C-7 and they protuded in a way that was putting pressure on my spinal cord. This went on for about 6 weeks and I was finally hospitalized after I went for a carpal tunnel test because I wasn't able to hold a glass of water and was not able to walk into the hospital for the exam. The person doing the exam was a neurosurgeon and pretty much knew right away after looking at my MRI what the problem was and had me admitted. I am able to walk but had a lot of therapy to help build the strength in my right leg. Ihad to do a lot therapy on my hands and they work pretty good but I do have a lot of trouble with my fingers. They are numb all the time some days worse than others and very stiff.Using my hands is difficult to say the least but you learn to deal with these things. I walk with a cane although there are days I can't hardly get out of bed. There are so many things that change it's hard to say what to expect. I was an outdoor person rode ATV, camped at least 2 weekends a month in the summer and deercamp and loved to hunt and fish. I still go camping and hunting and fishing but it is very different for me now. Depression is problem but I think it's because I don't understand I didn't even know that I am considered quadrapelic until I seen it on a doctor order for some tests I was taking. The best thing you can do for your cousin is be there and be supportive. Don't treat him differently than you did he knows he has problems things going on he probably won't even tell you about some of the stuff. Time will tell how much he regains and no one will probably say to much about his recovery for a few months anyway. Make sure he asks questions about things he doesn't understand. I never thought I was not going to be handicapped the rest of my life but here I am. Good luck to you and your family.

Oh and Danny - thanks a bunch for sharing your thoughts and feelings. I wish you the best of luck in finding the answers you are searching for. Take care and God Bless.

[hooplady]

ForJordan, on Jan 19 2010, 11:25 AM, said:

. He hates being in the chair and would much rather be in bed - not sure why?

I suspect this is typical; Tom was like this for awhile. He didn't say so, but I think it was easier to pretend he wasn't disabled when he wasn't in the chair. A person can be in bed for any number of reasons, but being in a wheelchair really makes you "different." It took him quite awhile -well over a year - to really get used to it.

Jordan is still soooo new to all of this. It'll take time. Lots 'n' lots of time.

[SMAY]

Hi all, I'm new to this site & this experience.

My partner of 10yrs had his injury about 4weeks ago & is in rehab at the moment.
His injury is C5 complete & has alot of strength in his arms & shoulders, not so much in wrists & fingers.

The one question I have is, I know that generally the body will experience spasms ... BUT, my partner only really has spasms when I massage his legs/feet & for that moment can feel my hands around his leg/foot & can feel the rest of his body. He says its almost as though he is being winded? Now I've read quite abit on spasms etc but it doesnt really answer the question I have at hand.

Are there any recommendations on what we could do to excel his feeling/sensation in the early stages?
At this stage, the doctors are unable to advise of his recovery due to the early stages of his injury.

For Jordan: Can you advise how your cousin is going? Wishing him all the best in his recovery.
P.S: I have heard that the earlier they get feeling/movement the better ... fingers crossed.

[Tetracyclone]

SMAY,

Often spasms only begin about 4 weeks post injury, sometimes longer. At that time my legs and stomach were terribly sensitive to touch in the sense that my legs would spasm whenever touched, like when friends tried to be nice and massage me. When the nurse cathed me the leg would invariably try to whack her in the head. it felt painful when people touched my legs.

Slowly, as i recovered function and worked very hard toward what strength I have, my body became less likely to spasm when touched, whether by hand or sheet. Now, two years post, it is very rare, occurring only when I am extremely tired or have not moved for hours.

Best of luck to you both.

[ButterflyInAmbr]

ForJordan, on Jan 19 2010, 09:25 AM, said:

He hates being in the chair and would much rather be in bed - not sure why?

I was injured eighteen months ago and I remember hating being in the chair at first, too. One time a nurse tried to make me stay in it longer than I wanted to and I ended up screaming and crying at her, and finally told management that I never wanted her to work with me again. Not one of my favorite memories from rehab...

Anyway, the problem that I had was that I was so sore and tired after my accident that I couldn't sit up for very long without feeling sick. Your cousin may feel uncomfortable with the chair for emotional reasons, but I wouldn't rule out the possibility that it's also just physically uncomfortable for him to sit up for very long at this point. It only began to feel more normal after I started using the bed controls to sit upright most of the time, whenever I was watching TV or visiting with anybody.

Sorry to hear about his accident, glad you found the site.

*Woops, just realized ForJordan's posts were from a long time ago. Ah, well, hope the info's helpful if anybody else reads it...

Edited by ButterflyInAmbr, 08 March 2010 - 07:42 AM.