Isn't that tremendously good news?
I'd say it's very hopeful, given that he has sensation and some voluntary motion. But the docs are being very guarded, so we probably should be as well.
Man, but I hate these sorts of injuries.....
However the spinal cord has taken a severe trauma, and there is a great chance of swelling over the next 48-72 hours that could furthur damage the cord.
The amount of trauma to Everett's spine makes the chance of a full recovery almost nil, and it is most likely he will suffer from paralysis of some type, but the movement and feeling are good signs, and there is always hope.
Everett will never play football again, but we can all pray that he recovers to the point of being able to lead a long and healthy life.
It seems to me that the cord was only bruised and it would make sense that it would affect him now. Since it’s intact and he has feeling and motion, it would seem like we could hope for the best.
I hope they use what they learned from Christopher Reeves about PT and spinal cord injuries. I heard that he was actually making progress in nerve repair with his very intense PT regime.
Yes, this is an absolutely excellent development. Once the cord is cut, it's over.
In 1995 I suffered a compression fracture at exactly the same place. The doc told me there are 3 types of injury you can have to the spine.
The Christopher Reeve with paralysis.
The complete break and snapping of the cord, most likely death
or the one I have that seperated into 4 pieces like a badly cut pie.
The swelling around the neck put pressure on the spilnal cord and caused loss of function from the neck down for about 3 months, but feeling came back over time. I did have to learn to do things all over again, like walk and use my hands again. It was rough, and I saw people at PT that would never walk again. I felt ashamed that I was so lucky to have survived it all, and had nothing but admiration for the courage some of these people have.