Monthly Archives: October 2006
Quadriplegic prepares for NYC marathon
Scott Rimmer refuses to let being a quadriplegic stop him from achieving new goals.
In 2003, a dirt bike accident in Moab, Utah, left him with a broken neck, paralyzing spinal injuries and a desolate outlook on life. But on Sunday the 38-year-old Port Orange resident is competing in the 2006 ING New York City Marathon.
Just thinking about the challenge puts a smile on his face. The 1988 Spruce Creek High School graduate said he caught marathon fever when he competed in the Walt Disney World Marathon in January this year.
Hansen remains in motion
Twenty years later, Rick Hansen is still relentless in his pursuit of a cure for spinal cord injuries
The Man In Motion had nowhere to go.
Rick Hansen was looking for a place to escape from the sweltering 33-degree heat at his daughter’s soccer game this past summer in Chilliwack, B.C. All the parents headed for the stands, but there was no wheelchair accessibility.
Hansen ducked into a state-of-the-art hockey rink that was part of the new sports complex. He spotted a sandwich shop open on the next level, a welcome sight since he was hungry. That option was blocked, too. No ramp or elevator.
Marijuana Treatment for Spinal Cord Injury Studied
THC reduces Spasticity in patients with spinal cord injury
IACM via BBSNews 2006-10-29 — According to an open label clinical study conducted at the REHAB in Basel, Switzerland, THC was effective in reducing spasticity in 25 patients with spinal cord injury. In three study phases patients received oral THC, rectal THC-hemisuccinate (THC-HS) and/or placebo, each for six weeks. Originally, it was planned to start with an open phase with oral THC followed by an open phase with rectal THC-HS and then a three-way crossover placebo-controlled phase with oral THC and rectal THC-HS. Due to logistical problems with the import of THC- HS Phase 2 had to be stopped after inclusion of seven patients. Phase 3 was changed to a parallel study with oral THC and placebo.
‘I’m excited, I’m nervous, I’m hopeful’
Paralyzed last year in a diving accident, Eagan man finds hope in stem cell surgery overseas
When Jay Magee became paralyzed after a diving accident last year, all he wanted was to be able to walk again.
These days, he’s just hoping to just get back the full use of his hands.
“It’s taken me a year and a half, and I can move my arms and feed myself and brush my teeth, but I can’t do a whole lot more than that,” he said. “It can be really frustrating.”
Now Magee has a reason to hope.
Wheelchair funding to be cut
To combat fraud, Medicare reducing reimbursements
There is no question that Keith Copen needs his motorized wheelchair. The 59-year-old is paralyzed from the thighs down and the chair helps him shop, get to his van, and travel over snow and ice.
But for the tens of thousands of seniors who got Medicare to buy them motorized scooters in recent years, the benefit is less clear.
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Man with ALS feels like he’s trapped inside a shell
Dr. Luis Cebrian says he feels like he’s trapped inside a shell. “I feel like I’m basically made out of wood or rubber.”
Although he is paralyzed, he is acutely aware of his body. His experience is different from a person who has had a severe spinal injury and has no sensation from the neck down. “I can feel my toes. I can tell you the places where I hurt. I feel tired when I’ve been sitting in one place too long. I feel like I could just get up and walk.”
As he sits in an alcove off his living room talking about what it’s like to be unable to move, Luis’ wife Valerie is at his side. She periodically crosses and uncrosses his legs, puts a glass of water to his lips so he can sip from it and makes small adjustments in the direction his wheelchair is facing. Except for brief respites, she’s his full-time caregiver.
Stem Cell Work Shows Promise and Risks
Parkinson’s Treatment Tried in Rats Reduced Symptoms but Caused Tumors
Nerve cells grown from human embryonic stem cells and injected into the brains of rats with a syndrome mimicking Parkinson’s disease significantly reduced the animals’ symptoms, but the treatment also caused tumors in the rodents’ brains, scientists reported yesterday.
O.T. “MacGyver” Makes Life Easier With Speedy Tools
University of New Hampshire faculty member Therese Willkomm calls herself “MacGyvette.” But Willkomm doesn’t fight crime like the resourceful 1980s television sleuth; rather, she fashions tools from everyday objects that make life easier for people with disabilities.
Willkomm, clinical assistant professor of Occupational Therapy and director of ATinNH at the Institute on Disability at UNH, is a specialist in assistive technology, which she describes as “solutions for easier living, learning, working, and playing.” And while the users of her solutions have some form of disability – from an aching back to extensive paralysis – Willkomm’s work rarely deals with expensive wheelchairs, specialized computers or complex communication systems. “Eighty percent of assistive technology costs $100 or less,” she says.
Physical therapy helps woman’s recovery
BRYAN – Shonnie Moore of College Station, paralyzed in a July 2005 traffic accident, has had to learn how to eat, bathe and live all over again through Physical Therapy.
“They call it [becoming a quadriplegic] a new birth,” she said.
Julie Cernel of St. Joseph Rehabilitation Center in Bryan, who served as Moore’s Physical Therapist for 13 months, has improved her Functional mobility and strength through exercises and aquatic therapy.
