SCI Awareness Month

September is official "Spinal Cord Injury Awareness Month."  If you're looking for statistics or other information related to SCIs, you can follow this link to learn more.

I don't have any particularly profound insights to add in commemoration of the month, except to quote the reported axiom of Benjamin Franklin: "An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure."

While an ounce of prevention cannot guarantee against injury (if it could, a lot of us would have a lot of ounces), and while a pound of SCI cure is not necessarily available (if it were, a lot of us would also be availing ourselves of a lot of pounds), doing your best to prevent a spinal cord injury is smart when you can do it.   

Thanks to Bryan Camacho, Army Sergeant

Veteran Bryan Camacho (Army Sergeant) was paralyzed twice, once in Iraq and once in the U.S.  His story, featured in the news as he is receiving a new home from the non-profit Home for Troops, is a reminder: please be thankful for our veterans and the lasting sacrifices they make.

Emotions and Physical Recovery

Hmm . . . emotions may directly affect recovery after spinal cord injury.  (I'm not sure how I "feel" about that!) 
In all seriousness, this conclusion seems sensible enough, given the general importance of mental and emotional health for anybody's physical health.  It remains to be seen what the next step would be following this type of a study. 

NervGen Pharma Trials and Scar Tissue

For readers who are watching NervGen Pharma, here's an update on upcoming trials for people with spinal cord injuries and multiple sclerosis.  If you're new to NervGen, they're working on a peptide (NVG-291) that will allow nerve regeneration in spite of scar tissue.  You can read more about NervGen and NVG-291 here. 
I've talked about scar tissue and various treatments of it several times before: using an EpiPen for SCIs, eating blue M&Ms (yes, M&Ms), injecting nanoparticles, and inserting an internal scaffolding.  All of these different methods tackle the situation of scar tissue which blocks regeneration.  The blue M&M seems like it would be most popular, and I'm keeping an eye on it . . . but it's not that simple!  Caveat lector. 

Video Update: Working with the LifeGlider

The LifeGlider

The latest addition to my PT line-up: the LifeGlider.  I was excited to try out this new type of walker, and hope that it will help in the retraining process as my brain and body continue to reconnect.  The LifeGlider is designed to realign the center of your balance as you walk.  The first half of this video was taken in July, going slightly downhill on a smooth surface; the second half in August, on a carpeted, level surface.  Here, as you can see in the video, I'm focusing on walking backward. 

Forward videos to come soon.  For now, I think it's encouraging to see the improvement over time.  In the spirit of Psalm 126:3: "The LORD has done great things for us, and we are glad."  As always, thank you to everyone who has rendered support and been a part of the larger path forward!

Video Update: Rowing Machine

My latest video update comes from May 2019: working unassisted at the rowing machine!  It isn't perfect form yet, but I've come a long way since not being able to move the weight without help.  I also have a new therapy device that I'm trying for walking and adaptive exercises.  Video of that soon to come. 

Cheering for Ben

I’m a Yalie, but Ben Abercrombie is a Harvard man worth supporting.  He is returning to Harvard two years after sustaining a severe spinal cord injury, and is still working hard on his recovery in the meantime.  Please keep Ben and his family in your thoughts and prayers as he goes back to school this fall.