Question
My daughter was in a tragic car accident in April.  She is terribly depressed and so am I.  She has a 10 year old son that trying hard to keep her head above water (so to speak).  To top everything else she's a diabetic who was already having complications and now this.  I have great faith and we tell her every day that she will walk again.  I need to know what to expect when I take her home - she's still in the hospital/rehab.  What can she expect to get back.  She has feelings in her legs.

Answer
hi Del-

Generally with true spinal cord injuries one does not ever get back to their previous functioning. you can fracture vertebrae and heal completely, or sometimes people will have 'incomplete' injuries, meaning there is either feeling or movement below the injury level.. but, in honesty, I have never heard of someone who actually had a spinal cord injury being able to walk again.

I'm very sorry that is rather harsh, but I try to be as straight ahead as I can. You can of course wish for return of function or have faith it will happen- but the pragmatic side of me suggests that while you do those things you plan for her current condition.

I hesitate to say this, but here goes- there was a man in rehab when I was there with a c3 injury. No use of legs, hands, barely any arms. Yet he insisted he would walk again because his family told him so and because he didn't want to accept his injury as permanent- i can understand that entirely. But he got furious with his doctors for not curing him and overall it was detrimental to his adjusting to the situation. So- with this in mind, i would suggest that you will all be most rewarded by learning to see small accomplishments as opposed to setting your hopes on being 'normal' again

the process of injury and rehab is a miserable one, and depression is I think a normal response. There should be a counselor or social worker for any of you to speak with when feelings become overwhelming. But to promise her a full recovery may be beyond probable, you understand?

I wish you all the best of luck and hope that I am wrong about what the outcome will be for your sake
leslie