6 replies to this topic

[khabra]

my wife and i were recently involved in an accident on sept 30 2011 where our car rolled down a precipice. as a result she sustained injuries at c5 and c6. she is still hospitalized with little or no feelings in her lower body from breast down. she has started breathing on her on and is now feeling most of her back area, can`t close her hands yet. what should i expect in terms of recovery and how long. i am scared to death

[wheeliebear75]

Well 1st off....give yourself a big ol pat on the back....you made it through the respirator phase with your sanity intact.

That being said....to KEEP IT (your sanity) I urge you to come back here as often as you need to; this is a wonderful place to get support for BOTH OF YOU, to learn about the issues she/you will be facing, & there is no better place (In MY Opinion) to vent....screaming & crying can be "healthy" in small doses since stuffing our feelings down instead of addressing them only leads to one hitting their boiling point sooner than later.

You (you AND her) have made it through 5wks of proverbial HELL! That being said.....although there might be some setbacks things will generally start to get better from here. How MUCH? That is a question that unfortunately nobody can answer for sure. Sorry I took my crystal ball to the bowling alley by mistake. LOL If you haven't already done so.....there are a few articles on this site I HIGHLY RECOMMEND reading.....

http://www.apparelyz...spinalcord.html
http://www.apparelyz...adriplegic.html
http://www.apparelyz...management.html
http://www.apparelyz...management.html
http://www.apparelyz.../autonomic.html
http://www.apparelyz...emperature.html
http://www.apparelyz...ssuresores.html
http://www.apparelyz...spasticity.html
http://www.apparelyz...dermatomes.html

There are a quite a few other articles on this site as well....but the above links/articles are something I wish they (Dr.s, hospitals, rehab centers) would have put into a "manual" or "handbook".....call it something like Spinal Cord Injury Survivor's Guide. I was hurt way back in 1990 so there was no such thing as the internet let alone THIS wonderful place.

Essentially once the "recovery" or "rehab-phase" is over with.... the majority of us end up somewhere in the middle....where HER "middle" ends up is what we can't predict. Have they done recent MRI/CT scan of her spinal cord.....like within the last week or so? By knowing where the damage is (anterior/front, posterior/back ,left side, right side, & @ what/which vertebra level {did any bone chips go floating around & damage the cord higher than the "break"?}) & did they give you any percentages like "90% damaged" as an example? MINE has a 15% lesion on the posterior side of L2.....meaning I have 85% of the cord intact & therefore I was able to regain quite a bit of function below my injury but it's no where near being an "AB". Some of us have gained enough function to walk/hobble around a bit.

The best advice I can give you at this point is; take things day by day, hope for the best but plan for the worst, enlist the help of family/friends/church group etc., take care of YOURSELF.....you're no good to her or anyone else if you yourself are a wreck, come here ANYTIME you have a question or a concern or are just feeling a bit overwhelmed. Oh & not to mention.....keep us up-to-date.

Welcome to Apparelyzed.....sorry you're in a position of needing us.

[biggdoggpa]

Sorry to hear about your accident!! Wheeliebear really gave you the best ( only ) advice lol! it's just so hard to predict anything with spinal cord injuries!! best of luck to you and your family! keep us posted and there are many great members here like wheeliebear who can answer mostly any question you may have! doc's and rehabs can tell you certain things but you got experience here at this site it's been super helpful for me!!!!

[greybeard]

Hiya khabra. Welcome to the site. You've already been given great advice. Wishing you and your wife the best for the future. Just as soon as she is able, get her on here as well.

[khabra]

thank you for your responses, to wheeliebear thank you for the articles i will surely go through them and keep you all updated.

[AlaskaOne]

Hi khabra. You and your wife's story sounds much like ours. I was injured in our accident, c6 complete, almost one year ago. I have arms and wrist extension but no hands, however with adaptive equipment I am able to do quite a few things on my own, including relearning how to knit! My husband and two daughters have been sharing the caregiver role this first year, but now we are back in Alaska and we are real close to getting me back to work w/ him on our commercial fishing boat and he will be the sole caregiver. We would never have dreamed all this was possible at your stage of the game, but good rehab, perseverance, and the advice you can glean from this site will help you and your wife get through this life altering time. Our thoughts are with you and yours.

[pjcstoke]

It's difficult but be patient and you can make progress but don't leave it too late try the things that will help

Good luck and hang in there