New Jersey Medical Team Relieves Paraplegic Pressure Ulcers by Rare Nerve Transfer Pr

[manouli]

New Jersey Medical Team Relieves Paraplegic Pressure Ulcers by Rare Nerve Transfer Procedure


65-Year Old Gunshot Victim Received Complex Procedure to Avoid Life-Threatening Ulcers
Thursday November 13, 2008, 12:25 pm EST
Yahoo! Buzz
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SHREWSBURY, N.J.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--In what is believed to be the first time in the United States, a nerve transfer was performed on a paraplegic to relieve life-threatening pressure ulcers - a common side effect associated with wheelchair-bound patients. The surgery took place on November 11, 2008, at Monmouth County Medical Center, and was performed by a team of medical professionals led by Dr. Andrew Elkwood, M.D. of the Plastic Surgery Center in Shrewsbury, NJ.

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http://finance.yahoo.com/news/New-Jersey-Medical-Team-bw-13560520.html



1 more story.

Paraplegic losing will to live as he's unable to land family physician
Posted By ANGELA SCAPPATURA, THE SUDBURY STAR
Updated 5 hours ago


More than 20 years ago, an accident at work took away Leo Thibert's ability to walk.

Now, the dim prospect of finding a family doctor is threatening his will to live.

"Makes me not want to be on Earth," Thibert said, in strained, soft tones.

"A dog would get better treatment -- at least they would put it to sleep."

Thibert is paraplegic and has been completely bedridden since his 450-pound wheelchair fell on his back last year.

He relied on the care of a family physician to prescribe potent narcotics for "unbelievable" pain and provide at-home checkups, but the doctor is no longer healthy enough to see patients.

Thibert's family has contacted numerous doctors in and out of Sudbury, but the answer is always the same.

"Nobody is accepting patients," said his sister, Monique Berton.

Thibert worked for a steel company in Sudbury when his accident occurred in 1987. The furnace was too hot and melted billets together so they formed one sheet of steel.

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http://www.thesudburystar.com/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=1300160

[manouli]

one more story it breaks our hearts.



South Hall couple copes with life changes after a paralyzing accident


By Jeff Gill
jgill@gainesvilletimes.com

POSTED Nov. 16, 2008 12:30 a.m.


CHESTNUT MOUNTAIN — Just mere seconds.

That was enough to turn life upside down for Teri and Kenny Pope, to set them on a wrenching journey from despair to healing and seeing the future for what it holds — physically, spiritually and emotionally.

The irony of it is that Kenny’s devastating fall from the ladder would take place on Mother’s Day, a time of celebration.

Blustery weather on May 11 had snapped the arm to the satellite dish on the roof of the Popes’ home on Hidden Oaks Drive, off Strickland Road.

"We got home from being at Teri’s parents ... and we didn’t have TV and I wanted to watch TV," he said in an interview at the couple’s home last week.

"When I looked at the satellite dish, the arm was literally hanging limp. I thought I might be able to click that back in place and everything would be resolved."

So, he mounted a ladder, climbed to the top of his single-story home and began to inspect the dish perched on the corner of his roof.

"I realized that (the arm) wasn’t going to click back in place. It was literally broken. I was just about to come down the ladder, having given up to fix it, when I fell.

"As I was falling, I remember the thought going through my head, ‘Why haven’t I hit yet?’

"... I remember hitting and I knew immediately that my legs were unplugged. That was obvious and I knew it from the get-go. I never lost consciousness, and I remember when Teri came out there and telling her that I was sorry.

"I knew I was in bad shape. I didn’t know how bad, but I knew that I was sorry because I knew that I had (changed) our lives forever."

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http://www.gainesvilletimes.com/news/article/11286/