Quadriplegic man travels to China for stem cell research

By Kevin Otzenberger – Times-News correspondent

BLISS — A 31-year-old Bliss man will travel to China in January to undergo an experimental treatment that might help him move the fingers that haven’t moved since an accident 14 years ago.

Pruett was 17 when he broke his neck and severed his spinal cord in a car accident, leaving him a quadriplegic confined to a wheelchair. Continue Reading »

Fundraiser set for quadriplegic mom

A family still recovering from a ghastly car accident last year will hold a benefit Thursday to raise money for specialized surgery for the woman and for others with similar injuries.

BY EVAN S. BENN – ebenn@herald.com Continue Reading »

`Superman’ star became real-life fighter for spinal cord research

MOUNT KISCO, N.Y. – Christopher Reeve, the chiseled, strapping “Superman” of celluloid who became another kind of hero as a force for spinal cord research after a devastating horse-riding accident, has died at 52.

Reeve, a quadriplegic for the last nine years of his life who vowed that he would one day walk again, died Sunday of complications from an infection caused by a bedsore. Continue Reading »

Quadriplegic will run marathon

Alan Robinson will be one of the last runners to cross the finish line in Sunday’s LaSalle Bank Chicago Marathon.

When he ran last year, it took him more than six hours to finish 31,309th out of 32,455 finishers.

It nevertheless was an extraordinary achievement. Robinson, 51, is a quadriplegic who 13 years ago woke up from a car accident paralyzed from the neck down. Continue Reading »

D.C. Jail Stay Ends in Death For Quadriplegic Md. Man

Care Provided by Hospital, Corrections Dept. in Question

By Henri E. Cauvin – Washington Post Staff Writer

Jonathan Magbie, a 27-year-old Mitchellville man, was sent to jail in the District last week for 10 days for marijuana possession.

He never made it home. Continue Reading »

Does recovery occur after spinal cord injury?

Many doctors tell patients and families that recovery does not occur after spinal cord injury. This is not true. Recovery is the rule, not the exception after spinal cord injury.

• Segmental recovery. Most patients recover 1-2 segments below the injury site, even after so-called “complete” spinal cord injuries. For example, a person with a C4/5 injury may have deltoid function on admission and then recover biceps (C5), wrist extensors (C6), and perhaps even triceps (C7) after several months, and the associated dermatomes. Continue Reading »

Rotarians hear story of young quadriplegic

On Tuesday, Woodland Rotarians, with many of their children and grandchildren, listened raptly as 24-year-old quadriplegic Anthony ‘Tony’ Venditti told of how his life drastically changed two days after his 21st birthday.

That was the day that Venditti, a graduate of River City High School in West Sacramento, popular student, school leader and a community volunteer, went with a group of friends on a trip Continue Reading »

Reagan and P-I wrong about stem cells

One of the primary responsibilities of any editorial is to get the facts right. Unfortunately, the Seattle Post-Intelligencer’s editorial extolling Ron Reagan’s speech at the Democratic convention (“Health, science trump politics,” July 28), failed to make the grade.

First, the P-I claimed that stem-cell research could “yield treatments” for Alzheimer’s disease. Actually, as reported by The Washington Post — and admitted by Reagan on the television show “Hardball” — Alzheimer’s is unlikely to be effectively treated with embryonic stem cells Continue Reading »

Dive leaves girl quadriplegic

FOR 12-year-old Laura Brown a false start at a swimming carnival was the beginning of a life confined to a wheelchair and dependent on others.

The teen dived into water just 90 centimetres deep after the starting blocks were placed at the wrong end of the pool at a swimming club carnival on November 11, 2000, the Victorian Supreme Court heard today. Continue Reading »

Paralympic athletes shooting for awareness

Don’t pity the women on the USA Wheelchair Basketball team.

That’s the message from South University’s Mary Vacala, appointed to the medical staff for the Paralympic Games in Greece this September.

The Paralympic Games is a parallel competition for athletes with disabilities and takes place about two weeks after the Olympics. Continue Reading »