long e-mail with questions regarding spine surgery and what peoples outcomes have been

[Guest guest]

Hi my name is , I'm 24 years old. I have had quite a summer. It all

started out with losing partial feeling in my feet and my left leg was giving

out this all had do to with the. stenosis getting worse over the years so my

doctors decided I needed surgery right away. I just had my back surgery this

past June. My doctors went in and did three laminectomies in different areas and

then fused them. Well half way through my surgery they noticed something was

wrong. They did a wake up test and asked me to move around and I couldn't move

my feet or legs. They finished the very long surgery and started doing neuro

exams and hoping things would get better. After the first week my incision

wasn't healing the way they wanted it so they took me back into surgery and

found I had an infection starting in the lumbar part of my spine so they cleaned

everything out and looked everything over to make sure everything else was

stable. I ended up staying an extra week after that surgery. My paralysis

started at T6 and it's moved down to T10 or around there. I ended up staying

in the hospital for over 2 weeks in Boston (where I had my surgery) then I moved

back up to Maine (where I live) to a rehab part of the hospital here for another

3 or 4 weeks. Now I'm home and trying to workout all the little details of

being a paraplegic. I don't have any feeling from the stomach down. Which

means I have to deal with all the personal things down there differently. Having

to cath and do all that good stuff. I'm in a wheelchair all the time now and

needing a lot more help from other people. It has been quite an adjustment for

me and my family. Going through a change like this doesn't just effect you but

everyone around you as well.

My questions. How many of you have ended up in this same situation or similar

situation? Do you live independently? Do you have a PCA come in or live with

you to help with morning and evening routine? Advice for living on your own?

Schooling? Since I am only 24 and still trying to figure out what I can do now.

Right now I'm living at home still and my Mom is my PCA. I'm very blessed to

have a very supportive family and church who has helped a great deal not only in

the materialistic things but emotionally to. Yes it's hard getting used to a

new way of living but it's doable and I'm getting used to things ok. If anyone

is in this situation have you thought of a wheelchair sport? How are you doing

it? and what sport are you playing?

Thanks everyone for listening!! I kind of rambled and things are probably not

in order but I hope you all get what I am talking about. Thanks again.