14 replies to this topic

[dom]

hi all you'd think by now i would know my definition but have never had a clearcut answer, i am an incomplete L1 using isc for bladder and dig evac for bowels, i can walk with a limp but am i a cauda equina?and not an sci or am i an sci with ces [cauda equina syndrome] am i not a 'true' sci,i was in stoke mandeville and that is an sci hospital
also am i a true paraplagic even though i walk? a nurse said no way am i a para but i told her technically i am due to the bladder/bowel problems,i have seen websites for ces and sci which do i join???

[Illinois Boy]

I would say no also...... But I'm no expert......

Para to me means you have use of your arms and legs paralized........

But WTF do I know......

Jim

[Unbreakable]

Maybe you should PM fatdave...
He is at a similar injury level, I think. Perhaps he could provide more info.

[KarenFerguson]

In my personal opinion any damage to your spinal cord makes you technically have an SCI. However, your case is a bit different having the cauda equina syndrome, but because of the damage to your spinal cord at L1 you certainly can join this forum for SCI's. Also, totally PM fatdave, he's has cauda equina syndrome as well.

[khoac6]

dom, on Oct 31 2008, 11:12 AM, said:

also am i a true paraplagic even though i walk?

like the others, im no expert but some still call us C5's and C6's "quads" even though we have partial use of our upper limbs.. they call us quads bc all 4 limbs are impared to some extent. yeah, i know some try to call it tetraplegia, but i'll always be a quad. so im thinking maybe if ur lower extremities are impaired do to an sci, u might just almost pass as para..?? oh and u tellin everyone u can walk is just bragging.. lol!

although im no doctor, but i play one on T.V.

[qbounce]

Dom,
being that you've posted almost 400 times to date, what the hell's stopping you from hanging around here for another 400+??

[fatdave]

I will have to chime in here. I had 2 ruptured disc at the L5/S1 and the S1/S2. I feel i have found more info here than anywhere else. Also, like you i was never told what my class of injury was. i was always told i have a SCI, and that i was a low-level para. When i was first injured i had no movement below my waist...at all... now i have no use of my feet or ankles and suffer bowel and bladder problems.

A lot of the problems of CES are similar to those of of SCI, and thats why i joined here. I can't walk very well yet, but i am working on that. I also can't climb steps.

I haven't been told to leave yet, so i'm guessing we are welcome here too!

[Trinity]

The Lumbosacral Cord. The lumbosacral vertebra form the remainder of the segments below the vertebrae of the thorax. The lumbosacral spinal cord, however, starts at about T9 and continues only to L2. It contains most of the segments that innervate the hip and legs, as well as the buttocks and anal regions.

The Cauda Equina. In human, the spinal cord ends at L2 vertebral level. The tip of the spinal cord is called the conus. Below the conus, there is a spray of spinal roots that is frequently called the cauda equina or horse's tail. Injuries to T12 and L1 vertebra damage the lumbar cord. Injuries to L2 frequently damage the conus. Injuries below L2 usually involve the cauda equina and represent injuries to spinal roots rather than the spinal cord proper.

(ref)

So from that I guess it is a SCI rather than CES. As for paraplegic, if you can have walking tetras/quads, I see no reason why you can't have a walking para, especially taking into account B&B issues etc

[Tinbasher]

Ok an analagy.

Your arse is held on by a cord. Cut the cord no matter where and it drops off

I have been L1 then T12 I have been CES and SCI. Over the last few years I have been getting some very odd return (23 years post!) so maybe I really am CES but does the lable REALLY MATTER?

The difference between CES and SCI is really a technical one in all practical terms we are low paraplegics. Sure the Injury Level Police will tell you your not really a para but from my point of view when that cord got cut the arse fell out of my life just like it did theirs.

T

[nomis]

Dom I'm not aware of any hard and fixed rule. For general purposes, with L1 involvement, I'd say you qualify for para. I think cauda equina also qualifies.

But as an incomplete your lower limbs aren't paralysed so you don't fit the literal description. I don't know the fine points of sporting classifications but they'll have their view, too.

I'd suggest you make it into a legal case and go through the court system till you get a clear ruling. This could take some time and cost a bit but think how relieved you will be with an outcome.

Meantime, I think you're free and within your rights to join both sci and ces which is more than most of us can do. You can always call yourself a PP (partial para) though little kids might laugh at that.

[Paraflyboy]

My- My Dom has been a victim of racism...among disabled..jus kiddin'

[mikeC5/6]

I was told by my doctor that even if i learned to walk unassisted I would still be a quadriplegic as long as i had an impairment in all four limbs even if it was weak pinky fingers an no sensation in my big toes

[topperf]

"Paraplegia is an impairment in motor and/or sensory function of the lower extremities. It is usually the result of spinal cord injury or a congenital condition such as spina bifida which affects the neural elements of the spinal canal. The area of the spinal canal which is affected in paraplegia is either the thoracic, lumbar, or sacral regions. If the arms are also affected by paralysis, tetraplegia is the proper terminology."
- Wiki.
I guess 2 limbs affected = Para. 4 = Tetra/Quad.

[fatdave]

I have been a victim of sci-predjudism....in rehab a quad made a remark about my weight and laziness. So i made a remark about his inability to drive drunk. I feel bad about it now.

[dom]

thanks again for all the informed replies, maybe i'm a paracauda? not that i spend my waking hours fretting about it!just sci-curious [not bi-curious] i hasten to add,i like all the input guys, and bounce, can you handle another 400 posts lol,now to pm fatdave