Shouldn't it be "tetraBlog.com"?
Howdy!
A topic that I wanted to cover is the very term "quadriplegia". Technically speaking, that term has been replaced by the term "tetraplegia". Tetraplegia is often considered synonymous with quadriplegia. However, tetraplegia specifically means that spinal cord injury was sustained to one or more of the eight cervical segments, or levels, of the spinal cord. The different levels of tetraplegia are described
here. Injury sustained below the cervical spine (i.e. in the thoracic, lumbar, or sacral areas) is considered to result in paraplegia.
Here's a picture that might help:
So what? Well, it's not that big a deal. So many people are used to using the term "quadriplegia" that it's not worth correcting them.
What about being called a "quad"?
At first, I really hated it. I remember a former roommate of mine (and fellow quad) while I was an inpatient at Harmarville used to tell me "It's good to have quad friends." That phrase has kind of become an inside joke among our family because I absolutely abhorred that term. I used to tell people, "I'm not a 'quad'! I'm a person with quadriplegia!" After a while, you kind of get used to it. When I created this blog, I really thought twice about the name. But it just had a ring to it, ya know?
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Greg Euston is a software engineer, private pilot, Christian, C-5/C6 quadriplegic, and Editor of quadBlog.com.
-- Written exclusively for quadBlog.com.
©2004 quadBlog.com
Now Hear This
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Greg Euston is a software engineer, private pilot, Christian, C-5/C6 quadriplegic, and Editor of quadBlog.com.
-- Written exclusively for quadBlog.com.
©2004 quadBlog.com
Gimme Drugs!
I've never been a pill person, but nowadays I don't have the choice. I'm currently on 13 different medications and take about 26 pills a day. Why?
Baclofen -- for spasticity
Elavil -- for spasticity
Dantrium -- for spasticity
Neurontin -- for neuropathic pain
Lipitor -- because my triglycerides are too high
Paxil -- my happy pill
Vitamin B6 -- to promote growth of myelin sheaths
Vitamin B1 -- to promote growth of myelin sheaths
Ditropan -- a bladder relaxer
Multivitamin -- for my nutrition
Darvocet -- for pain as needed
Keflex -- an antibiotic because I currently have bursitis in my right elbow
Pepcid -- because I take all the other pills
There are about four or five of the medications above that cause drowsiness, so it's a wonder I'm ever awake. I have been cutting down on just about all of them except for Baclofen and the vitamins.
Having quadriplegia means accepting drugs whether you like them or not. They're not cheap; we pay several hundred dollars a month just in copays! But hey, you have to get them. On top of that, you have to make sure that you take them regularly. If you skip a dose, you're in for trouble -- a sleepless night (and I mean sleepless), lots of spasms, or any number of other things. If you skip more than one dose, you're in for a trip to the hospital. Skipping too much baclofen will cause seizures and hallucinations.
Yes Virginia, pills are important. Don't leave home without them.
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Greg Euston is a software engineer, private pilot, Christian, C-5/C6 quadriplegic, and Editor of quadBlog.com.
-- Written exclusively for quadBlog.com.
©2004 quadBlog.com
Therapeutic Pain
Good morning!
I had another day of therapy yesterday and it was brutal. The day before, I went with the kids to their elementary school. They wanted to ride their bikes on the track up there. I took the opportunity to push my manual chair around the track. The track is about 1/8 of a mile and that was plenty! When you're in a manual chair, particularly a very lightweight one like mine, the chair is very sensitive to any slope in the surface that it's on. The track wasn't quite level which made it very difficult for me to control the chair. It took me about 25 minutes to make it around the track once.
So I was sore by the time I made it to therapy yesterday (Monday).
For those of you that don't know, I go to therapy twice a week at HealthSouth Harmarville. It is a dynamite facility with a great staff. Currently I go for occupational therapy, physical therapy, and pool therapy.
I started off in the pool yesterday and it was tough. I start off with 9 pounds of weight on each wrist and do some exercises including lifting my arms in front of me, doing punches, and lifting my arm to the side and working my triceps by extending my arms. After that, I had floats on my head and feet and did laps. I did some other stuff in there too.
After going to lunch, I had occupational therapy where I stood in a standing frame while my wrist flexors and extensors were getting electrical stimulation (I'll describe that at some later date). Then I went off to physical therapy where I did a lot of work on the mat, strengthening my shoulders, arms, and torso.
Needless to say, I was really sore by the time I was done. But as they say, "No pain, no gain." That's all I have for now (pretty boring), but I've got to get to work. I'm currently designing a web site for a company owned by a friend. Check it out at www.hytorcpennohio.com.
Peace!
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Greg Euston is a software engineer, private pilot, Christian, C-5/C6 quadriplegic, and Editor of quadBlog.com.
-- Written exclusively for quadBlog.com.
©2004 quadBlog.com
Welcome to quadBlog!
Happy Saturday and welcome. Remain sitting and let me tell you why you're here (or why I think you're here).
This is a new blog of the ramblings of a quad. What's a "blog"? What's a "quad"? Ahem...
blog
n : a shared on-line journal where people can post diary entries about their personal experiences and hobbies [syn: web log]
| Source: WordNet ® 2.0, © 2003 Princeton University |
So there you have it. A blog, in essence, is nothing more than an online area for folks to post their thoughts. Ah, but this place will be so much more! Why? Because this place pertains to quads. Oh, I almost forgot...
quad
n : a person with quadriplegia
What's quadriplegia? Oh, okay...
quadriplegia
Paralysis of all four limbs, both arms and both legs, as from a high spinal cord accident or stroke.
Source:
On-line Medical Dictionary, © 1997-98 Academic Medical Publishing & CancerWEB
Wait a second. That's not exactly right. Quadriplegia is not exactly paralysis of all four limbs because many quads have movement in one or more limbs. For folks with a spinal cord injury, quadriplegia is more accurately described as someone that has sustained a spinal cord injury at or above the sixth thoracic vertebra. Folks with spinal cord injuries below that are typically known as "paras" because they have a condition known as paraplegia.
So now you're up to speed.
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Greg Euston is a software engineer, private pilot, Christian, C-5/C6 quadriplegic, and Editor of quadBlog.com.
-- Written exclusively for quadBlog.com.
©2004 quadBlog.com
