Today, we went to the optometrist. Colin was overdue by about 3 years, and I was overdue since 2013. We both need new glasses, and it is official: I am old. My arms are now too short to be able to read a book or even see my phone properly without glasses, and our new … [Read more…]
Colin’s shoulders are stronger, but they still need a lot of work. Yesterday, we got to try a different manual chair. This one seems like it may be the one that works for him. Here you can see him pushing himself. A major achievement considering he could hardly move his right arm AT ALL just … [Read more…]
There is another “level” (see what I did there?) to spinal cord injury. No matter what level the spinal injury occurs, the injury can either be complete, or incomplete. A complete injury means the nerves are no longer connected above and below the injury. In an incomplete injury, some or all of the nerves are … [Read more…]
Differences between being a quadriplegic or a paraplegic People are not always aware of the differences between the terms paraplegic, quadriplegic, and tetraplegic. Sometimes, even medical professions who are not directly involved with spinal cord injury are not always clear. Here is a great article that explains the difference very well: Spinal Cord dot com … [Read more…]
This is an article I came across written by Dana Brown Ritter, for The Mobility Resource that really gives some insight. huffingtonpost article For me, 3, 5, 6, and 8 are the big ones.
Colin’s right arm started moving one week before Christmas last year. Since then, he has been working really hard on strengthening it. He is trying to write again with his right hand, but doesn’t have the wrist control. It is possible to write with gross movement, but we are hoping for return and control of … [Read more…]
Found somewhere in Harare, Zimbabwe. My Dad sent it from his travels.
It was the C5 vertebra that was dislocated almost to the point of complete separation in Colin’s neck as his car was hit from behind, spun over, flipped and landed on its roof. At that moment, he felt his entire body go limp and knew he wasn’t going to walk away from this. In the … [Read more…]
Just in the last week, Colin’s hand function is such that he was able to use his traditional Gilette razor instead of the electric one he has been using. Initially, he was not able to hold the electric one, and I used to shave him. Then he was able to hold it himself and shave … [Read more…]