A Summary Of Spinal Cord Injuries

Far too many people suffer from traumatic spinal cord injuries in their lifetimes that leave them paralyzed. Many people wonder if these spinal cord injuries are reversible, and hope to someday walk again. Although the complete reversal of paralysis is in the minority viewpoint, encouragement by others in similar situations has been shown to help motivate paraplegics to maintain a rehabilitation process. There are many researches about the restoration of spinal cord injuries to give hope to those affected by spinal cord injuries, as well as multiple foundations that enable paraplegics to walk again with the help of a bionic exoskeleton. Many books, online articles, and the testimonies of paraplegics such as Lainy Loyola, help answer
Only hours prior to her wreck, she had said “what doesn’t kill us, makes us stronger” (Loyola). Since the day she was released from the hospital, she has been involved in immense amounts of research involving the reversal of paralysis, and on many occasions I have heard her say, “one day I WILL walk again” (Loyola). In a way, she did just that. In 2010, Lainy was a part of the Re-Walk program in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania—the same one that former New England Patriots football player Mike Stephens is a part of—and on May 26, 2010, with the help of the bionic equipment and her doctors, Lainy took her first steps since the accident. Because the program inspired her so much, she is now the CEO of her own foundation, called the Lainy Loyola foundation, which helps raise money for the research of spinal cord injuries. Lainy is still very persistent on finding a reversal for types of paralysis such as her own, and is sure that one day very soon, it will be
The majority of what happens in rehabilitation is actually responsible for emotional and behavioral adaptation. Group counseling is often recommended to “assist disabled persons in adjusting to their disabilities” (Trieschmann 157). According to Salhoot (1977), group counseling focuses on solving “individual problems through group interactions” (Trieschmann 158). In order for this technique to work, it is important to specify which problems will be brought forward and focused on by the group as a whole, rather than all problems faced by disabled persons. Role playing in these situations may be helpful to those involved, and emphasizes the “here-and-now” reality of the scenarios. Another technique in group therapy is the use of “audiovisual materials” in order to provide a “common experience to which group members can relate” (Trieschmann 158). This technique provides a foundation for conversation between group members, and enables the rapid start of discussions. The primary goal of group therapy is to “increase the patients ability to cope with his disability” and to show group members that they are not alone in their hardships (Trieschmann