Spinalcordcam - My Story: How it Happened

It's a serious struggle. People say I'm lucky to be alive. At times I beg to differ. I listen to Christopher Reeve, talking about nerve regeneration, and I think "Ya one day, I will walk again!" I have the support of my family , friends and staff with every step (pardon the pun).

bobcat On August 21, 1997, my 2000 lb bobcat tipped off the second floor of the former Woodward's Department Store building. Plummeting down 60 feet to land on Cordova Street, I remember thinking on the way down, "boy do I have a story to tell"!

My neck was broken at the C-4 level (3 levels below Christopher Reeve's). Speedy medical care prevented more damage. But now I live with: incomplete quadriplegia, one third my former lung capacity, and half my former blood pressure and shoulder and bicep capability. My triceps, wrists, and fingers don't work yet. Using adaptive splints I am able to eat most foods by myself, brush my teeth, play on the computer, and drive my power chair, but it is a struggle. Trying to get the sleep out of my eyes has never been more frustrating. When my nose is plugged I don't have the power to blow so with the help of someone we have to work it out together. (These problems are just the tip of the iceberg!)

HOSPITAL FUN

I was admitted to Vancouver General Hospital for the worst two weeks of my life. Not being able to move, or eat, and just starting to realize the challenges I will have to face, such as: being spoon feed by my mother at the age of 24, shittin' my pants while sitting among a crowd of people, and the hospital being so busy they didn't have time to clean me up or put me back to bed, so I sat near an open window and cried. Fortunately, I rapidly started to recover and regained some shoulder and bicep movement. I also got rid of my Intravenous and was eating solid foods. My two-week stay seemed like forever. At the end, I was physically ready to leave.

LIFE AT G.F. STRONG

G.F. Strong Rehab Center was not ready to take on my emotions, but I went anyways. G.F. Strong is one if the best rehab facilities in the world, but my six-month stay was the most embarrassing, most excruciating, most emotional, most frustrating time I have ever had.

A typical day at G.F. Strong would pass like:

6am woken up at to my urine bag being emptied and the sound of toilets being flushed.

7am the new shift starts and the hallway lights turn on. Phones start ringing, TVs turn on, breakfast is rolled down the hall. As none of us can feed ourselves we wait patiently for others to be fed, and one-hour-old food gets cold. At 8am , pills are distributed. For me that included a stool softener that is washed down with metamucil. A blood thinner shot is given, and a pill that coats the inside of the stomach to prevent ulcers. If it is bowel day, a suppository is inserted up my butt. I then wait for the bowel action to begin, which can sometime take a half hour , sometimes 3 hours. For me it was always done in bed, because I didn't want to sit on the toilet for 3 hours. The Bowel routine is messy and smelly, as I didn't, and don't, have any muscular control over my bowels. To push out the stool I need help, which includes being "stimmed" every 20 minutes. ("Stimmed" is short for stimulation of my rectum with a finger.) If I am constipated, an enema may be required. The bowel routine is one of the hardest and most embarrassing parts to living with spinalcord injury. But, it has to be done!

10am The G.F. Strong staff would start to get me dressed. I would wear a pair of pantyhose and an abdominal binder (which is a fancy name for a girdle) to keep my blood pressure up. I would then put on my $300.00 aluminum neck brace, which barely even lets me open my mouth. I needed the neck brace to stabilize my newly operated on-neck. Shirt, underwear, socks, pants, shoes are put on me.

Then, a sling is placed under my body, like how a stork carries a baby, and an engine-lift type device is used to lift me out of bed and place me in the wheelchair. My hips are checked, my condom is checked, and now I am on my own.

11:30am Lunch time (remember this is hospital food!). I head down to the lunchroom where I am spoon-fed what ever the slop of the day is.

12:00 pm is pills and catheter time.

1:00pm is physiotherapy time. This consisted of: lifting my own arm over and over again, a series of stretches from my toes to my neck, also alot of cursing, spitting, and crying.

2 - 3:00 pm bullshitting with the guys about how much this life sucks.

3:00 pm was occupational therapy. This consisted of: making my wheelchair more comfortable and making and learning how to use wrist splints for me. The splints handle: the phone, kitchen/bathroom utensils, and the computer keyboard. Occupational therapy also included alot of cursing, alot of spitting, and alot of crying is also what happens.

4:00 pm is pills and catheter time again.

4:30 pm is slop time again. Alot cursing, alot of spitting and alot of crying also happens again.

6:00pm was bedtime for me. I used the lift to get back into bed, someone takes my clothes off, and I was hooked up to a night drainage system. The TV was turned on and stayed on all night. I was able to change the channels by a sip and puff procedure. A long straw would hang from the ceiling and with a series of sips and puffs I would be able to change the channel and volume and also turn my fan on/off, use the phone with my mouth and use the call bell for help. I shared a room with one other person that did the exact same procedures that I did. One room, two phones, two TVs , two bowel routines, two catheters, two guys doing a lot of cursing , alot of spitting and alot of crying together. You bet, we became very good friends. This is what it was like every day like clockwork for my six-month period and some people stay longer.

8:00 pm catheter

9:00 pm pills

10:00 my dad would come to visit, every single night.

THE BLADDER ROUTINE

In the beginning, I was hooked up to an indwelling catheter which consists of a sixteen inch long tube the width of an extension cord, inserted into my penis and permanently left in until my bladder came more under control. After three months I got rid of my indwelling catheter and have graduated to an in/out procedure. Which consists of the same size tube being inserted into my penis, letting the urine drain out and then pulling the tube out and discarding it. The urine is measured and monitored for thickness, odor, stones, and cloudiness. This procedure used to happen 6 times a day. As the months went by, I slowly graduated to only two times a day. When I am not doing a catheter I still have to be hooked up to some kind of drainage system. This entails wearing a condom with a hole in the end to which a hose can be fastened. The hose runs down my leg and into a bag that is strapped to my ankle. This has to be monitored because if the condom gets kinked, it could come off, and I end up wetting my pants.

SKIN CARE

Skin care is very important! My blood cells don't circulate like they used to. It is necessary to be repositioned every few hours as a simple red spot caused by pressure can turn into disaster. I had a quarter size red spot on my butt, 3-4 skin layers deep, very superficial but with constant monitoring, dressing changes two times a day, not sitting up for long periods of time, it took 4 months for it to heal. Any red spot needs to be taken seriously. It is therefore important not to sit on pant creases or shirt folds, depress in bed, or wear tight shoes. Due to not being about to see my backside, I need to depend on others to check my skin every day.


6am	woken up at to my urine bag being emptied and the sound of toilets being flushed.

7am	the new shift starts and the hallway lights turn on. Phones start ringing, TVs turn on, breakfast is rolled down the hall. As none of us can feed ourselves we wait patiently for others to be fed, and one-hour-old food gets cold. At 8am , pills are distributed. For me that included a stool softener that is washed down with metamucil. A blood thinner shot is given, and a pill that coats the inside of the stomach to prevent ulcers. If it is bowel day, a suppository is inserted up my butt. I then wait for the bowel action to begin, which can sometime take a half hour , sometimes 3 hours. For me it was always done in bed, because I didn't want to sit on the toilet for 3 hours. The Bowel routine is messy and smelly, as I didn't, and don't, have any muscular control over my bowels. To push out the stool I need help, which includes being "stimmed" every 20 minutes. ("Stimmed" is short for stimulation of my rectum with a finger.) If I am constipated, an enema may be required. The bowel routine is one of the hardest and most embarrassing parts to living with spinalcord injury. But, it has to be done!

10am	The G.F. Strong staff would start to get me dressed. I would wear a pair of pantyhose and an abdominal binder (which is a fancy name for a girdle) to keep my blood pressure up. I would then put on my $300.00 aluminum neck brace, which barely even lets me open my mouth. I needed the neck brace to stabilize my newly operated on-neck. Shirt, underwear, socks, pants, shoes are put on me. Then, a sling is placed under my body, like how a stork carries a baby, and an engine-lift type device is used to lift me out of bed and place me in the wheelchair. My hips are checked, my condom is checked, and now I am on my own.

11:30am	Lunch time (remember this is hospital food!). I head down to the lunchroom where I am spoon-fed what ever the slop of the day is.

12:00 pm	is pills and catheter time.

1:00pm	is physiotherapy time. This consisted of: lifting my own arm over and over again, a series of stretches from my toes to my neck, also alot of cursing, spitting, and crying.

2 - 3:00 pm	bullshitting with the guys about how much this life sucks.

3:00 pm	was occupational therapy. This consisted of: making my wheelchair more comfortable and making and learning how to use wrist splints for me. The splints handle: the phone, kitchen/bathroom utensils, and the computer keyboard. Occupational therapy also included alot of cursing, alot of spitting, and alot of crying is also what happens.

4:00 pm	is pills and catheter time again.

4:30 pm	is slop time again. Alot cursing, alot of spitting and alot of crying also happens again.

6:00pm	was bedtime for me. I used the lift to get back into bed, someone takes my clothes off, and I was hooked up to a night drainage system. The TV was turned on and stayed on all night. I was able to change the channels by a sip and puff procedure. A long straw would hang from the ceiling and with a series of sips and puffs I would be able to change the channel and volume and also turn my fan on/off, use the phone with my mouth and use the call bell for help. I shared a room with one other person that did the exact same procedures that I did. One room, two phones, two TVs , two bowel routines, two catheters, two guys doing a lot of cursing , alot of spitting and alot of crying together. You bet, we became very good friends. This is what it was like every day like clockwork for my six-month period and some people stay longer.

8:00 pm	catheter

9:00 pm	pills

10:00	my dad would come to visit, every single night.