--- Debby Kramer Martinich
<debby_kramer_martinich(AT)csi.com> wrote:
> On Thursday, June 17, my brother Dave called 911
> because he thought he was
> having a heart attack. One second, he was sitting
> at the computer typing
> away and then he felt a sharp pinprick between his
> shoulder blades. Pain
> rapidly spread around to his chest and his arms went
> numb. The ambulance
> came and took him to the hospital. Within a short
> period of time, he was
> paralyzed from the chest down - but was still in
> tremendous pain. The
> doctors were very good. They first ruled out an
> "aortic disconnect" (or
> something like that). They did an MRI, which was
> inconclusive, so they did
> a myelogram. They had put him on steroids right
> when he was brought in to
> the ER. They did back surgery on him that evening
> because they saw some
> calcification on his spine that they thought might
> be compressing and
> causing the paralysis. After the surgery, they told
> us he either had TM or
> had suffered a stroke to the spinal cord.
>
> By Sunday (his first father's day) he was able to
> slightly move a toe and
> felt pain when he got a shot in his belly. The
> neurologist told us that
> since he had shown early signs of improvement, his
> chances at recovery were
> now better than average - we were elated! He
> finished his course of
> steroids and was moved to a rehab hospital. We all
> had such high hopes at
> this point. Now the reality sets in - they tell him
> he needs to accept his
> paralysis and learn to live with it. They are
> saying the doctor should
> never have told him he had a good chance of
> recovery. In essence, they are
> killing his spirit. Yesterday was the lowest of the
> lows so far. They
> were considering putting him on an antidepressant.
> One nurse finally came
> in and told him he needed to be in his wheelchair so
> that his body could
> remember what it is supposed to do - i.e. sit up.
> He sat in his chair for
> 4.5 hours. When he got back in bed, his wife got
> him to close his eyes and
> just try to wiggle his toes. HE DID IT!! Then he
> was able to move both of
> his kneecaps. Then he was able to turn his foot and
> leg inward from his
> hip. He has a renewed outlook on things. Once
> again, he feels he will be
> able to get better if only he works hard at it.
>
> My question is, are rehab hospitals required to be
> so negative? What's the
> point? Why try and crush someone's spirits when
> they are already so down?
> My brother knows there is a chance he won't improve
> any more than he
> already has, but why on earth should he stop trying
> to improve? Any
> responses will be appreciated.
>
> Take care, my prayers and thoughts are with all of
> you,
> Debby
>
>
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