Wheelchair Users Say Paraplegic Action Movie Character Inaccurate, but Uplifting
Like others who flocked to see the blockbuster movie “Avatar,” 26-year-old Santina Muha was thrilled by the visuals.
But unlike the majority of people in the theatre, she wasn’t just imagining life on the distant moon Pandora. She was vicariously living the fantasy of regaining the use of her legs.
“The scene where the character goes from his wheelchair into his ‘avatar,’ where he’s walking and playing basketball, it was really touching,” said Muha, who had a spinal cord injury in a car accident at age 5. Continue Reading »
Engineers are designing a helmet that could protect the spine from serious injury.
Helmets for everything from football and hockey to motorcycle riding are built to protect the head from impact. Each successive generation of design is better at dissipating force and protecting against concussions and other knocks to the skull. But current helmets can still do little to prevent the spinal injuries that cause paralysis.
Now researchers at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver are working on a design that could protect the spine during a head-on collision. Continue Reading »
A young man left paralysed by a crash which killed his girlfriend and best friend has learned to walk again thanks to “miracle” surgery.
Aaron Timms, 22, was told he had a less than one in 10 chance of regaining movement in his legs. But neurosurgeon Karoly David and his team at Queen’s Hospital in Romford put him on the path to recovery by repairing his broken back, “repositioning” and freeing his spinal cord. Continue Reading »
Episode to unveil Orange County Choppers’ first-ever wheelchair-accessible motorcycle
SHORT HILLS, N.J., Dec. 29 /PRNewswire/ — The Christopher & Dana Reeve Foundation announced today that Paul Teutul Sr. and the crew from Orange County Choppers (OCC) have built a custom wheelchair-accessible motorcycle specifically to raise funds for the Reeve Foundation. A first of its kind, this trike bike allows someone living with paraplegia the opportunity to ride a motorcycle without having to transfer from their wheelchair.
The American Chopper episode featuring the Reeve Foundation/Life Rolls On bike is scheduled to air on TLC on Thursday, January 7 at 9PM ET/PT. Continue Reading »
Published: December 28, 2009 | Category: Information
About 5.6 million Americans have some degree of paralysis, far more than previously thought, according to the findings of a survey by the Christopher & Dana Reeve Foundation.
Previously, the highest estimate of paralyzed Americans was 4 million.
Stem cell research has taken off since President Obama signed an executive order freeing federal funds for work on any type of stem cells. There is promising research being done, and a number of clinical trials are underway. Continue Reading »
Paralysis doesn’t stop former football athletes from raising money to make life a little easier for youngsters who suffer catastrophic spinal cord injuries
Only the start of a football game bothers Kenneth Jennings, who blows into a tube and turns his wheelchair away from the action. Once the kickoff’s over, his eyes are glued to the field.
It was while he was returning a kickoff for Simeon High as a lightning-quick junior in 1988 that he suffered a catastrophic spinal cord injury and lost all use of his extremities below the neck. Continue Reading »
Aspiring model Vladislava Kravchenko has a very good chance of recovery form her paralysis, according to doctors in Moscow, where she has now begun stem cell treatment.
“It’s great, I’m really happy. They’re helping a lot of people here. I am filled with hope,” Ms Kravchenko said. Continue Reading »
BAGRAM, Afghanistan — Afghan insurgents are using roadside bombs powerful enough to throw the military’s new 14-ton, blast-resistant vehicles into the air, increasing broken-back injuries among U.S. troops.
Doctors at the U.S. military hospital here say more than 100 U.S. servicemembers have suffered crushed or damaged spinal columns from being thrown around inside armored Mine Resistant Ambush Protected (MRAP) vehicles in the last five months. Continue Reading »
Spinal cord injury patients around the world may draw new hope for the future from the story of a paralyzed little dog who was able to walk again after receiving an experimental spinal cord treatment. Cambridge University scientists pioneered the new treatment that made it possible for Henry the dachshund to walk after he was paralyzed by a severe spinal cord injury. Continue Reading »
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Wheelchair Users Say Paraplegic Action Movie Character Inaccurate, but Uplifting
Engineers are designing a helmet that could protect the spine from serious injury.
A young man left paralysed by a crash which killed his girlfriend and best friend has learned to walk again thanks to “miracle” surgery.
Episode to unveil Orange County Choppers’ first-ever wheelchair-accessible motorcycle
Paralysis doesn’t stop former football athletes from raising money to make life a little easier for youngsters who suffer catastrophic spinal cord injuries
Aspiring model Vladislava Kravchenko has a very good chance of recovery form her paralysis, according to doctors in Moscow, where she has now begun stem cell treatment.
BAGRAM, Afghanistan — Afghan insurgents are using roadside bombs powerful enough to throw the military’s new 14-ton, blast-resistant vehicles into the air, increasing broken-back injuries among U.S. troops.