Post by kpdgtt7 on Dec 27, 2016 20:43:29 GMT -8
My dad suffered a incomplete spinal cord injury at C4-C6. His injury was seven months ago and he is 58 years old. Prior to the injury he was really healthy and worked out at least three times a week. Currently he can wiggle his fingers some, and has more control over his feet (central cord syndrome). He can kick out and propel is wheel chair backwards, but not forward. He had a baclofen pump put in a few weeks ago. He still needs full support for transfers, and all of his daily living skills.
I had a couple of questions....
1. Are there any other people out there that had incomplete injuries around my dad's level? What did your recovery process look like. (Time wise?) I know every spinal cord injury is extremely different, but I want to know if there is still hope that my dad can develop even more independence. We would love for him to be able to walk and use his hands for simple tasks like feeding and cathing himself period. Can y'all share some of your "firsts" and at what step in recovery it was? Like "I started getting control of my right hand after 8 months" or "I could walk with a walker a few steps at 14 months"
2. He's going to be getting phenyl injections his arms soon. Has anyone had any experience with this… What was that like?
3. Has anyone had to hire a nighttime caregiver? We are now going to have to start hiring someone for two days a week. About what do you pay someone for nights? There's goning be a lot of downtime because once he's in bed and bowel program is complete there's not much to do besides cathing every 4 hours.
4. Has anyone got a baclofen pump and experienced a lot of trouble with leg muscles? Now that my dad is a lot less spasticity and tone in his legs, transfers are becoming a lot more challenging. I know it's because the spasticity and tone some what helped with keeping his legs straight, but what was the process like for rebuilding that muscle without the spasticity and tone? He used to be able to do things like squat pivot transfers and standing with support a lot more easily. Does it get better?
