Logan Seelye doesn’t like to use the word paralyzed. After suffering a life-changing injury nearly 10 years ago at a summer football camp, the 26-year-old Spanaway resident has heard enough about what he might never do again.

Logan Seelye doesn’t like to use the word paralyzed.

After suffering a life-changing injury nearly 10 years ago at a summer football camp, the 26-year-old Spanaway resident has heard enough about what he might never do again.

He cares more about what he can do — and strive to do.

“Life is 10 percent what happens to you and 90 percent how you react to it,” Seelye said. Continue Reading »

The possibility of using a patient’s skin to generate healthy new heart, liver or nerve cells has moved a step closer after a breakthrough by US scientists.

Using the cloning technique which produced Dolly the Sheep in 1996, researchers were able for the first time to turn human skin cells into “embryonic” stem cells, which can grow into any type of tissue in the body. Continue Reading »

This world of ours is full of barriers and limitations for individuals with disabilities; especially, those who are in power wheelchairs. But, one limitation that should not be accepted is the difficulty of airline transportation for the disabled.

The current standard for air travel for those in power wheelchairs is exhausting, dangerous, many times embarrassing and utterly unacceptable. It is also a process that has the opportunity of improving and eventually being fixed; Ben Trockman’s idea for a solution is included on his blog, which is attached below.

Such a change would knock down the current barriers of airline travel for the over three and a half million Americans who are currently wheelchair users. Everyone, absolutely everyone, should have the opportunity to travel the world by air; sign the petition if you agree. Continue Reading »

A spinal cord injury can happen to anyone yet no one is prepared for life after the injury. Continue Reading »

Imagine being paralyzed: whatever position you are in right now, you must stay there– until someone comes to move you.

As an American, the chances of you becoming paralyzed are roughly one in fifty.

With a U.S. population of 315 million, an estimated 5.6 million children and adults suffer paralysis. That’s 1.7% of America’s population, members of your family and mine.

One is my friend who recently incurred a nerve condition called Guillain-Barre’ (gee-on burray, GB) syndrome. He was paralyzed in hands and legs, but fortunately had the good sense to get to a physician immediately. Continue Reading »

New treatments leverage “neuroplasticity,” the nervous system’s innate ability to repair itself

When Christopher Reeve became quadriplegic, there was little hope for patients with spinal cord injury. Now researchers are combining what they know about the central nervous system’s ability to rewire and regrow with a new understanding of the hidden smarts of the spinal cord to dramatically improve treatments.

Even the most devastating spinal cord injuries usually do not completely sever the link between the brain, spine and the rest of the body. Scientists are now finding ways to make the most of the remaining connections using a variety of technologies. Studies on electrical stimulation and locomotor training (a treatment that relies on human or robotic assistance during a walking exercise) suggest that it is possible to regrow damaged neuronal circuits in the brain and spine and recover some voluntary control. Some of these studies find that circuits in the spinal cord itself can be coaxed into helping the body move again. Continue Reading »

Sophie Morgan was left paralysed after a car accident in 2003, aged 18; Has no sensation from the waist down but has no complaints about sex; Sophie thought she’d live in celibacy, and discovered quite the opposite.

When I was invited to write about my sex life, I was hesitant. How much did I want to reveal about something so deeply personal?

I’m no exhibitionist – I do not relish the thought of strangers knowing intimate details of my life. But then I decided, yes, I would do it. Why? Because I realised my reticence was partly due to the fact that the subject of sex for people like me is still taboo. And it shouldn’t be that way. Continue Reading »

Reconstructive hand surgery can dramatically enhance the life quality and independence of those paralysed by a cervical spinal cord injury. Despite this, the operation is not frequently performed, either in Sweden or elsewhere. Researchers at the Sahlgrenska Academy are now hoping to change that.

A cervical spinal cord injury entails paralysis in both arms and legs, severely limiting daily life for its victims. Previous studies have shown that the capability that those with cervical spinal cord injuries most wish to recover is a functioning hand. Continue Reading »

If you come across a photo of David Hudgik, most likely he’s smiling. It reflects his optimism 16 months after being paralyzed in a trampoline accident at his home in Keene.

Life moves forward for the 17-year-old Keene High School senior and his family, even when they’re tempted to shake their fists at fate. But that won’t do. Boxes in their new house in Keene need to be unpacked. The interior of the new elevator needs staining. There’s a hockey puck to drop today.

The eight-point New Year’s resolution list Hudgik crafted with his father, Paul, is about moving forward, not looking back. No. 1 on the list: “GET ON SNOW ASAP.” Continue Reading »

January 23, 2013 – Doctors at The Miami Project to Cure Paralysis, a Center of Excellence at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, performed the first-ever Food and Drug Administration approved Schwann cell transplantation in a patient with a new spinal cord injury. The procedure, performed at the University of Miami/Jackson Memorial Medical Center, is a Phase 1 clinical trial designed to evaluate the safety and feasibility of transplanting the patient’s own Schwann cells.

“This historic clinical trial represents a giant step forward in a field of medicine where each tangible step has tremendous value. This trial, and these first patients in this trial specifically, are extremely important to our mission of curing paralysis,” said neurosurgeon Barth Green, M.D., Co-Founder and Chairman of The Miami Project, and Professor and Chair of Neurological Surgery. Continue Reading »