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Hi my name is , I'm 25 and my cord is tethered from C3 thru

C7. In 1995 the doctors found a tumor rapped around my cord from

C3-C7. They removed the tumor, causing a lot of damage to my cord and

waking up with a small chance of ever walking again. But with

determination I was walking 2 months later. I went on with life

thinking that I was done with this, but I was wrong. Slowly my cord

started to attach to the scare tissue and my walking got a little

difficult. I stayed very active, keeping my muscles strong while I

figured out what was going on and what to do. In 2002 a doctor in La

Jolla,California claimed he was extremely qualified to untether my

cord. When the surgeon got to my cord he wasn't expecting it to be

that bad, but went on with the surgery. He untethered C7-C5, then

stopped because he lost all nerve signals and thought he paralyzed me

from the neck down. He closed me up and told my parents to be prepared

for a new way of life. When I woke up a miracle happened, I sat up in

bed and was able to move my legs and arms no problem. I was told at

that point that my cord is severely tethered and that surgery to

untether it is no longer an option. Since I was still walking I

excepted it, when on with life with just a little bit of paralysis on

my left side and slight spasticity in the left leg. It never accord to

me that my life would change dramatically.

To skip ahead to today, I have had to have two more surgery's. A

syrnix developed and the doctors at the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota in

2006, popped a hole at C5 to drain it. I walked into the surgery with

a little difficulty and woke up unable to walk without the help of

crutches and on Baclofen and Neurontin. Then after months of continues

therapy and believing that I would be back to myself soon the doctors

saw the syrnix filled back up, so in May of 2007 I had a shunt put in

to continuously drain it. After months of hard work my therapist and

doctors told me that because my cord is so severely tethered and

damaged, that even though I can walk short distances with my walker

that its time to move on and except life in a wheelchair.

Not wanting to give in I kept on fighting to walk. I have found a

new therapy that has worked. I'm almost off the drugs and walking with

my walker I can now walk 1/4 mile without stopping. This place is

Project Walk and its for people with spinal cord injuries only and for

any level of damage. They believe that no matter what there is always

a chance as long as you believe. There website is projectwalk.org,

they are a non-profit organization and sadly no insurance pays for it.

But it is worth ever dollar. I have been very lucky that my parents

are able to give me the opportunity to take off last semester of

school and go to a Project Walk full time. Now after 5 months of

intense work I will be going back to school in January walking to

class with my walker and continuing the program in San Francisco on my

own.

I know that with my cord being so tethered I have a difficult road

ahead of me and my life will never be normal again. That I think is

the hardest thing to except, but for me right now I keep fighting.

Hoping that one day one doctor will be able to untether my cord and

fix all that's damaged.