Question
If a person had a severance at C3, is it possible to regain the ability to control breathing?  How might a person be assisted in respiration?

Answer
Hi Harmon,
Thank you so much for your question.

The C3 level is probably borderline. It's going to depend on where exactly the cord was severed and what kind of nerve damage occured.

Christopher Reeve suffered a C2 injury and is able to breath on his own but only between 90 minutes to 2 hours on his own. A person with a C3 injury could possibly be weaned off a respirator but it's going to be a long process. There is no guarantee that they will be free from a respirator.

Each spinal cord injury is unique and no 2 injuries are alike. As in, there are no 2 fingerprints alike.

Again, thank you very much and feel free to ask me more questions anytime.

John McKinzie