Ryan Straschnitzki's Progress and Electrical Stimulation

Sharing exciting videos about an experimental spinal surgery and an ongoing recovery story.  Ryan Straschnitzki was one of the Humboldt Bronco hockey players injured in a very serious bus accident in Canada last year.  Fourteen people were injured; sixteen were killed.  Ryan sustained a spinal cord injury in the accident and has been diligently pursuing physical therapy since then.  Recently he underwent surgery in Thailand to have an epidural stimulator implanted in his spine.  The device is designed to stimulate nerves below the site of his injury.  The results are pretty incredible, as you can see from these videos: when the stimulator is turned on, he's able to move his leg, and therapists are now helping him work on taking steps.  Please keep Ryan Straschnitzki in your thoughts and prayers for continued progress.

As for the epidural stimulator technology, it's been in the news multiple times in the last few years.  I thought readers might be curious to know more about what it entails.  I am not a medical doctor and have not tried this technology, but according to reports, the internal stimulation process goes something like this: surgeons place a device called an implantable pulse generator (IPG) in the user's back or elsewhere in the body, and connect that device to electrodes put on the tissue around the spinal cord.  They can program electrical currents sending signals to the IPG and, from there, to the electrodes.  "The idea, in very basic terms, is to stimulate neurons" when the electrical stimulation is activated, as reported by a CBC News article (see here for the complete article).  If you're interested in learning more, Wings for Life's site features more details and an info graphic.

There is a non-invasive version of electrical stimulation that has also seen some amazing results.  This technique, known as transcutaneous stimulation, involves placing the electrodes on the skin of the user's lower back and then activating the electrodes with external electrical stimulation.  An NIH news release notes that by the end of one study, the users "were able to move their legs with no stimulation at all and their range of movement was — on average — the same as when they were moving while receiving stimulation."  (Click here to read the full 2015 NIH release.)

All in all, these strategies have the goal of reactivating dormant nerve pathways or creating new ones altogether.  Life-changing outcomes.

NB: For more, you can read my older posts on related studies happening at the University of Kentucky: September 2018, January 2018, and November 2017.  Thanks to Susan Harkema and Claudia Angeli for their work in Louisville!

In Remembrance and Thanks for Our Veterans

"In Flanders Fields"

In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.
We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved, and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders fields.
Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.

- Major John McCrae, 1915

Paralyzed Officer Stands for National Anthem

A good story that has drawn attention this week: fourteen years after sustaining a spinal cord injury, Officer William Weigt was able to stand for the National Anthem and present the American Flag at the Special Olympics Arizona this week.  Officer Weigt is also a veteran of the United States Army.  Thanks to him for his service!