Neuro Note #2

For my second neuro note, I chose to take a look at spinal cord injury. I am very excited to cover this topic in our class, because my brother-in-law is a physical therapist at Regional One and he works every single day with SCI clients. I am eager to understand the reality of what he sees at work. In addition, the movies “Me Before You” and “The Upside” have left a special place in my heart for SCI victims. Today I read an article called “I’m Still Myself,” about a girl named Alix Reese who suffered from a spinal cord injury in May 2010. I assumed she got in a car accident or had a fall or a diving accident – however, Reese was driving the Columbus, Ohio streets at night and was caught in the middle of a gunfight. The article says that bullets ripped through her car, and one entered her neck, shattering her spinal cord.

Reese woke up paralyzed from the shoulders down, with months of therapy coming her way. Reese considers herself lucky, though, because her doctor told her that the bullet was just BARELY away from her carotid artery. She is alive and breathing and still has her same personality that she did before. What I love about this article is that it goes into detail about the assistive technology that she uses, such as using a stylus with her mouth in order to manipulate her Kindle and other tablets. She even uses a straw to control her wheelchair – she sips to turn left and blows to go right. At the end of the article, Reese talks about the justice she deserves, because for a while the anonymous person who shot the gun remained unpunished. Thankfully, in 2016 Columbus Police arrested a man in connection with the incident. 

This article truly encouraged me. Reese said, “Learning to live with a disability doesn’t stop me from doing the things I like to do and want to do. I don’t think anyone with a disability should let it affect them, either, because you’re still the same person.” It is incredible that people like her can have such a wise, positive outlook on her situation. This article also reminds us how delicate the spinal cord is – any damage to it can cause severe consequences. I think it is important for people to learn about spinal cord injuries and how precious the spinal cord is. We can be better parents, knowing this is the reason not to let our children dive in a pool too shallow. We can be better civilians, driving our cars carefully without any distractions, knowing we could put others at risk. We can be better occupational therapists, providing empathy to SCI clients and encouraging them to have a positive outlook just like Alix Reese does.

Photo from https://www.columbusalive.com/content/stories/2016/05/26/people-alix-reese-im-still-myself.html

Oliphint, J. (2016, May 27). People: Alix Reese: "I'm still myself". Retrieved July 24, 2020, from https://www.columbusalive.com/content/stories/2016/05/26/people-alix-reese-im-still-myself.html