Post by Knight on Oct 31, 2014 2:41:14 GMT -8
I never really put too much thought into how much function I've lost over the course of 2 years, 4 surgeries, and tons of complications, but these past two weeks have really made me reflect because of a new friend I made.
He suffered the same injury as mine (L1 burst fracture), and received surgery and rehab from the same hospital as I did. However, in three weeks, he was walking like normal again, and looking at him now, you would never know he had spinal cord damage.
Then look at me: two days after surgery, I was taking a couple steps with a walker, then BAM! the infection grew and everything swelled around my spinal cord. After my fourth surgery, my left side is pretty well shot-- I can hardly even get my quad muscle to respond anymore.
Just goes to show how much damage incorrect care can cause. I could be walking perfectly fine if not for the infection and hardware dislodge. And it shows just how different each spinal cord injury is! Two people with the exact same vertebral injury, similar cord damage, the same surgeon, hospital & rehab team have completely different outcomes and function.
He can carry me, but I can't even get my left leg to respond. However, it is really refreshing to talk to somebody face-to-face about what it's like to wake up after a surgery and realize you can't feel your legs, can't feel your bum, and to know what it's like to go through the torturous pain, mentally and physically. And it is a huge load off my shoulders to spend time with someone who knows what hardware pain feels like, and to know that he's never going to ask me stupid questions like, "can you feel your [lady parts]?", underestimate my pain on a cold day, and there is the unspoken understanding of IBS-like problems. It's not even something I have to explain.
And it's motivating me to go back to physical therapy. 
P.S. he's pretty hot too, lol! 
