Introduction

madcolin · 01-03-2005, 02:15 PM

Hello everyone. My name is Collin and I was injured on July 10 of this year. I just got involved with the community forum and thought that I would introduce myself to all of you. I am 21 years old and was injured diving off of a rock and into a mountain stream. Suddenly I became a C5 quad and paralyzation hit me like a ton of bricks. I have surprised even myself over the past six months and have been very determined to beat this injury. I started my inpatient rehab at the Charlotte Institute of rehabilitation, where I was blessed to be classified as incomplete. After spending six weeks there, I went to the Shepherd Center and joined their day program where I spent another six weeks. The past couple of months I have been living at home, a task that has been painfully hard for a young college student such as myself. As frustrated as I get sometimes, I have actually gained a lot of recovery. After my injury I was hoping for recovery to hit muscles instantaneously with the same strength as I once had. Trace movement has been the story of my life however the past six months. My left wrist was the first sign of gained movement a few weeks after my injury. Today my left wrist has gotten much stronger but is still not fully strengthened much to my disappointment. Most of my recovery has occurred in the trunk region, especially the abs. It is very strange to me how my abs have gotten so strong at the thoracic level but cervical level muscles such as my chest are still weak, almost nonexistent. But of course trace is in my chest as well, as in my triceps, and my right wrist which has just started moving recently. My fingers also show signs of trace. My left leg once showed trace movement but has now frustratingly disappeared. So recovery is definitely there but has been painstakingly slow. I pray and pray for quick recovery but it continues to plod along to the point which as months pass I can barely tell that it's there. Deep down however, I know I'm lucky to be having recovery at all and I believe the future has a lot in store for me. My short-term plans for right now are to gain as much independence from my family as possible so that I don't kill them and to rehab rehab rehab. When I reach a certain point of strength and recovery I'll go back to the Shepherd Center for more rehab.

I look forward to asking a lot of questions because God knows I have had a lot of them. If anyone can relate to my saga, let me know.

JDR · 01-03-2005, 03:44 PM

Welcome to CareCure. You've come to a great place.

I'm 24 and a student at NCSU in Raleigh. I know how it is to go from independent to totally dependent. Its tough but hang in there. It will only get better with time.

I'm a C6/7 incomplete who was also injured in a diving accident. I'm almost 17 months post now (wow, that is crazy to say)and life is better than it ever has before. Stay strong and if you want to say hi, email me at shouldbestudying2003@yahoo.com

Justin

"It is my hope, that with time, ignorance will be washed away by education and that true compassion will eventually surpass all politics." ~me (in my final genetics paper)

SCI-Nurse · 01-03-2005, 04:00 PM

Madcolin, welcome to the club no one wants to join. We hope we can provide you with some support, answers for questions, and referral to resouces.

Are you involved in any ongoing exercise? Have you explored a post-rehab rehabiltation program? Can you get any on-going FES? These modalities can help you maximize any return you are getting. You may want to check this out on the Exercise forum.

(KLD)

01-03-2005, 02:15 PM	#1
madcolin Senior Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Atlanta, GA Posts: 248	Introduction Hello everyone. My name is Collin and I was injured on July 10 of this year. I just got involved with the community forum and thought that I would introduce myself to all of you. I am 21 years old and was injured diving off of a rock and into a mountain stream. Suddenly I became a C5 quad and paralyzation hit me like a ton of bricks. I have surprised even myself over the past six months and have been very determined to beat this injury. I started my inpatient rehab at the Charlotte Institute of rehabilitation, where I was blessed to be classified as incomplete. After spending six weeks there, I went to the Shepherd Center and joined their day program where I spent another six weeks. The past couple of months I have been living at home, a task that has been painfully hard for a young college student such as myself. As frustrated as I get sometimes, I have actually gained a lot of recovery. After my injury I was hoping for recovery to hit muscles instantaneously with the same strength as I once had. Trace movement has been the story of my life however the past six months. My left wrist was the first sign of gained movement a few weeks after my injury. Today my left wrist has gotten much stronger but is still not fully strengthened much to my disappointment. Most of my recovery has occurred in the trunk region, especially the abs. It is very strange to me how my abs have gotten so strong at the thoracic level but cervical level muscles such as my chest are still weak, almost nonexistent. But of course trace is in my chest as well, as in my triceps, and my right wrist which has just started moving recently. My fingers also show signs of trace. My left leg once showed trace movement but has now frustratingly disappeared. So recovery is definitely there but has been painstakingly slow. I pray and pray for quick recovery but it continues to plod along to the point which as months pass I can barely tell that it's there. Deep down however, I know I'm lucky to be having recovery at all and I believe the future has a lot in store for me. My short-term plans for right now are to gain as much independence from my family as possible so that I don't kill them and to rehab rehab rehab. When I reach a certain point of strength and recovery I'll go back to the Shepherd Center for more rehab. I look forward to asking a lot of questions because God knows I have had a lot of them. If anyone can relate to my saga, let me know.

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01-03-2005, 03:44 PM	#2
JDR Senior Member Join Date: Mar 2004 Location: Raleigh, NC Posts: 1,118	Welcome to CareCure. You've come to a great place. I'm 24 and a student at NCSU in Raleigh. I know how it is to go from independent to totally dependent. Its tough but hang in there. It will only get better with time. I'm a C6/7 incomplete who was also injured in a diving accident. I'm almost 17 months post now (wow, that is crazy to say)and life is better than it ever has before. Stay strong and if you want to say hi, email me at shouldbestudying2003@yahoo.com Justin "It is my hope, that with time, ignorance will be washed away by education and that true compassion will eventually surpass all politics." ~me (in my final genetics paper)

01-03-2005, 04:00 PM	#3
SCI-Nurse Moderator Join Date: Jul 2001 Location: USA Posts: 41,361	Madcolin, welcome to the club no one wants to join. We hope we can provide you with some support, answers for questions, and referral to resouces. Are you involved in any ongoing exercise? Have you explored a post-rehab rehabiltation program? Can you get any on-going FES? These modalities can help you maximize any return you are getting. You may want to check this out on the Exercise forum. (KLD)