“An ailment not to be treated,” read the prescription for a spinal cord injury on an Egyptian papyrus in 1,700 B.C. Not much has changed in the intervening millennia. Despite decades of research, modern medicine has made little headway in its quest to reverse damage to the central nervous system.
That is not to say, however, that there isn’t a glimmer of hope. Laura Wong, an M.D./Ph.D. student in Professor Eric Frank’s molecular physiology lab at the Sackler School, has been able to coax damaged nerve cells known as sensory neurons to regenerate, growing as much as 10 times longer than previously documented.
What’s more, the new neurons make organized connections with their counterparts inside the spinal cord and brain stem, ensuring information from the outside world paints an accurate picture inside the brain.
“All the regeneration in the world isn’t going to make any difference if they don’t reconnect. You’re still not going to get any function,” says Wong, who has worked since 2010 in Frank’s lab, which is trying to develop therapies for spinal cord injuries. Her findings, which she presented at the annual meeting of the Society for Neuroscience in 2011 and 2012, shed light on the complex processes behind nerve cell growth and regeneration. If those results can be replicated in patients, it could prevent certain types of nerve damage and improve quality of life for some.
Going the Distance Unlike tissues such as skin and bone, the cells of the central nervous system in an adult are notoriously resistant to healing.
Not only does the supply of natural growth stimulants decline as we age, but the body also produces chemicals that discourage nerve cells from regenerating. Worse, the scar tissue that starts to form immediately after a spinal cord injury also contains compounds that hinder nerve cell growth. Researchers in Frank’s lab have been seeking ways to either stimulate growth or block the mechanisms that inhibit nerve cell growth—or both—since 2005.
Wong’s predecessor in the lab, Pamela Harvey, a 2009 graduate of the Sackler School, tested a synthetic version of a nerve cell growth factor, called artemin, on crushed sensory neurons that relay information from the hands, arms and shoulders to the brain. “With some other growth-promoting compounds you get regeneration, but you see those axons growing kind of willy-nilly,” says Laura Wong. Photo: Alonso Nichols The damage mimics a common injury called Erb’s palsy, which can occur when a baby’s shoulder gets caught behind the mother’s pelvis during labor and delivery, creating undue strain on nerves in the newborn’s neck.
Riders thrown head first off a motorcycle or snowmobile can suffer similar injuries. “Anytime the shoulder goes one way and the head and neck go the other, that’s when you see these injuries,” Wong says. In earlier experiments, Harvey and Frank found that treating with artemin did indeed stimulate the sensory nerve fibers to regenerate and grow back into the spinal cord over the course of about six weeks.
In her follow-up experiments, Wong showed that artemin could induce those nerve fibers to grow the 3- to 4-centimeter distance from there up to the brainstem, where the brain and the spinal cord meet. That’s a little more than an inch—or roughly 10 times longer than any other researchers have been able spinal cord injury laura demonstrate with artemin or any other growth factor.
“A lot of other researchers just haven’t seen this length,” notes Wong, who saw the artemin-induced growth occur over a period of three to six months. That’s important, because while axons only have to grow across microscopic distances in a developing embryo, they would have to bridge much wider gaps—depending on the site of the injury—to heal a neural injury in an adult, Wong says.
Nerves that extend from the spine to the foot or toe can reach lengths of about 60 centimeters, she adds. But Wong’s artemin-treated nerve fibers achieved more than unprecedented growth. They also reestablished connections with correct regions in the brain stem, just as Harvey had seen the nerve cells do in the spinal cord.
That is, the axons essentially plugged themselves back in just as they were prior to the injury, and, like an old-fashioned telephone switchboard, they sent spinal cord injury laura right messages to the right parts of the brain. That’s crucial because should the sensory nerves that relay pain signals become crossed, for example, it could result in a patient feeling phantom pain or the sensation of pain from something that shouldn’t cause discomfort at all.
“With some other growth-promoting compounds you get regeneration, but you see those axons growing kind of willy-nilly,” says Wong. “You can see where it would be just as detrimental to have things wired incorrectly as it would be to have things not wired at all.” Just a Start Artemin isn’t a panacea for spinal cord injuries, Spinal cord injury laura and Frank stress.
To work its cellular magic, the compound must be administered within a day or two, and the sooner the better. Also, artemin promotes growth only in sensory neurons—and so far, only in rats—which means such growth wouldn’t improve motor function for someone who had been paralyzed by a spinal cord injury, for example.
But if the findings, which Wong presented at the Society for Neuroscience meetings in 2011 and 2012, prove applicable to humans, restoring sensation alone could still improve quality of life, even for those living with paralysis.
Giving these people the ability to sense heat, cold and pain could help them avoid other accidental injuries, says Frank. Wong hopes her work with sensory neurons will help unlock the secrets to promoting regeneration of other, more obstinate types of neurons in the brainstem and spinal cord. While she demonstrated that the sensory nerves plugged themselves back into the spinal cord precisely where they should have, it’s not clear how they did that.
Frank speculates that chemical cues guided the cells back into place. Should researchers be able to identify those cues, they potentially could use that knowledge to spark regeneration of other classes of neurons, such as motor neurons. “There is hope—not proof—that even in humans these guidance molecules will persist into adulthood,” says Frank. “That means if we are able to get neurons to regenerate in patients, we might be able to make them go back to the right place.
These experiments suggest we have some reason to believe it may work.” Jacqueline Mitchell spinal cord injury laura be reached at jacqueline.mitchell@tufts.edu. Adult Stem Cells Treat Spinal Cord Injury (February 2018) Laura Dominguez-Tauer is a living, breathing example of what it takes to overcome adversity.
An oil spill on a San Antonio freeway is blamed for the car crash that sent Laura and her brother directly into a retaining wall in 2001. As she lay tangled in the middle of the car, she heard a paramedic say, “get a neck brace, she has a broken neck.” “I didn’t feel anything.
I couldn’t move my arms, I couldn’t move my hands” “I didn’t feel anything. I couldn’t move my arms, I couldn’t move my hands,” Laura was paralyzed from spinal cord injury laura neck down. “I didn’t feel anything. I couldn’t move my arms, I couldn’t move my hands,” Laura said. While others might have given up, Laura and her family started immediately searching for answers.
They learned about adult stem cells and the promising results for spinal cord injury patients. In 2010, Laura joined a handful of other spinal cord patients and received an adult stem cell transplant. The transplant was a success.
Laura says, “Before the stem cell procedure, I wasn’t able to move very much. And then after the procedure I’m able to get up. I’m able to stand and walk around a little bit with help. The stem cell procedure made my upper body a lot stronger. I can feel my entire body now.” Laura went to work making herself stronger.
Through physical therapy and a lot of hard work, she grew stronger and stronger. Instead of feeling sorry for herself, she opened a gym called Beyond the Chair. “We opened Beyond the Chair to help people with any type of neurological disability whether it’s spinal cord injury, traumatic brain injury, strokes. We don’t turn anybody away. We’re going to help people.” “The stem cell procedure made my upper body a lot stronger.
I can feel my entire body now.” In 2010, she met a young man, fell in love and was married. Then came a big surprise. “I found out I was pregnant in April of 2016 and I was in disbelief, says Laura. We heard his heartbeat for the first time, and it was kind of like, oh my gosh, this is such a dream come true, it’s a miracle.” Young Joshua, named after his father, is what Laura is focused on now.
She still helps run Beyond the Chair, but her days are mostly spent being a mom – and promoting adult stem cell research. Says Laura, “a lot of people ask me about my experience with stem cells. I always tell them that at the end of the day the decision is up to them.
But I promote them, I believe in them, I experienced it.” “I think having the adult stem cell procedure was the best decision that I’ve ever made. I think that it’s been very beneficial, it’s helped me out so much,” Laura said. “My hope is that I can help other people and encourage other people. And spread the word about adult stem cells.”
close search • Understanding SCI • ABOUT SPINAL CORD INJURY • Pediatric Spinal Cord Injuries • Bedsores • Bedsores & Pressure Ulcers • How to Find the Right Wheelchair • Video Interviews • Medical Interviews • Personal Interviews • Voices of Experience Series • Resources • Join Our Community • Blog • Donate Laura Wehrli, PT Physical Therapist/Supervisor, Spinal Cord Injury Unit, Craig Hospital, Colorado Laura Wehrli began her career in spinal cord injury rehabilitation at Mount Sinai Medical Center in New York, NY in 2000, and is currently the Physical Therapy Supervisor in Spinal Cord Injury at Craig Hospital.
Laura has spent most of her career working with patients with spinal cord injuries in both the inpatient and outpatient settings. She is a presenter with Spinal Cord Injury Seminars, Inc and has also given lectures at the APTA Spinal cord injury laura Sections Meeting, International Seating Symposium, Academy of Spinal Cord Injury Professionals (ASCIP) Conference, and Canadian Seating and Mobility Conference (CSMC). Laura Wehrli has assisted in editing chapters in two textbooks and is currently an adjunct faculty member for the University of Colorado PT program.
She is now serving on the executive board of ASCIP and is a member of the American Physical Therapy Association.
Wehrli answers basic questions in her video interview about the role of a physical therapist after a spinal cord injury, how families can assist their loved ones with physical therapy, information about contractures and how to prevent them, and important information about pressure ulcers (bedsores)and skin breakdown prevention.
She also talks about the importance of proper wheelchair fitting, how to get a good wheelchair tune-up, and when to know it’s time to preplace a wheelchair. FacingDisability.com is an informational and support website for families facing spinal cord injuries. The website does not provide medical advice, recommend or endorse health care products or services, or control the information found on external websites.
The Hill Foundation is a 501 spinal cord injury laura (3) private operating foundation established by Robert Hill and Thea Flaum.
737 N. Michigan Ave., Suite 1560Chicago, IL 60611.
© 2011 – 2022 Spinal cord injury laura Foundation for Families Living With Disabilities Photography by Rona Talcott FacingDisability.com is an informational and support website for families facing spinal cord injuries. The website does not provide medical advice, recommend or endorse health care products or services, or control the information found on external websites.
The Hill Foundation is a 501 (c) (3) private operating foundation established by Robert Hill and Thea Flaum. 737 N. Michigan Ave., Suite 1560Chicago, IL 60611. © 2011 – 2022 Hill Foundation for Spinal cord injury laura Living With Disabilities Photography by Rona Talcott Sad news came from the Indonesian entertainment industry. The news of the death of one of the celebrities, Laura Anna at the age of 21, is still a topic that is still discussed in public, mom.
Before, Laura Anna known to have had an accident and a spinal cord injury two years ago or also known as Spinal cord injury. Before you learn more about spinal cord injuries, it would be good if Bunda understood the nerve pathways in the spinal cord first. Nerve tracts in the spinal cord The chairman of the DKI Jakarta Neurosurgery Specialist Association, Dr. Wawan Mulyawan, stated that the nervous system of the nervous system carries information in the form of electrical nerve impulses to and from the entire body in order to regulate all activities of the human body.
“The basic unit of the nervous system is a nerve cell or neuron, which consists of a cell body, axons and dendrites. In addition to the brain, the spinal cord is the most important part of the nervous system’s network called the central nervous system. “System or CNS,” Wawan explained. In addition to the CNS, there is another nervous system called the peripheral nervous system that is outside of the CNS nerve in the brain and spinal cord. In addition, Wawan explained that there are two main systems that can carry information from the brain to the body and vice versa through the spinal cord.
• Outbound or efferent pathways that send commands from the brain to the body to control movement or motor muscles, and autonomic pathways that are responsible for controlling the heart, intestines, and other organs.
• Incoming or afferent pathways that carry information from the outside through the skin, muscles, and other organs to the brain or sensory organs. “This is all in the spinal cord, made up of more than 20 million axons arranged in spinal spinal cord injury laura or pathways that go in and out of the brain,” Wawan said. Wawan stated in his written statement that the spinal cord consists of several segments, namely the neck segment (around the neck, arms and hands), the total segment (around the chest area), the lumbar segment (around the hips and legs).
Area) and the sacral segment (around the pelvic area, toes, and some parts of the foot). “They look anatomically, although they look small, from each segment and are connected to specific areas of the body,” said Wawan. Spinal cord injury ( Spinal cord injury) As defined by the PERDOSSI Association in 2006, a spinal cord injury is a direct or indirect injury to the spine that can result in permanent disability or death.
Two types of damage result from a spinal cord injury: 1.Direct damage from impact or compression (primary) Injuries to the spinal cord usually occur as a result of trauma to the spine from the neck area to the sacrum. A broken or broken bone puts pressure on the spinal cord or even tears it. A spinal cord injury can occur without a clear spinal fracture, and conversely, a person can experience a spinal fracture without a spinal cord injury.
However, most spinal cord injuries compress or tear spinal cord injury laura spinal cord. The severity of the nerve damage depends on the strength of the compression of the nerve by the spinal cord, the strength of the force acting and the duration of the compression or the rescue time.
2. Additional damage (secondary) Secondary damage can result from ongoing primary damage, from inadequate or improper assistance, so that the damage, which should be lighter, becomes more severe or becomes permanent. “If immediate treatment is not given after an accident or injury, it will lead to inadequate supply of nutrients and oxygen to nerve cells and ultimately to permanent death,” said Wawan.
When the nerve cells in the marrow bone Injured spinal cord, axon, or astrocyte injuries are not treated quickly and appropriately and can even self-destruct from the production of toxic chemicals or free radicals. Click here to read the next page, mother. Paralyzed by an accident for two years, Laura Anna breathed her last breath: [Gambas:Video Haibunda] .
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Twitter Snapchat icon A ghost. Snapchat Fliboard icon A stylized letter F. Flipboard Pinterest icon The letter "P" styled to look like a thumbtack pin. Pinterest Link icon An image of a chain link. It symobilizes a website link url. Copy Link Download the app An Indonesian Instagram influencer who documented her journey with a paralyzing spinal cord injury has died at 21, her sister wrote on Instagram.
Edèlenyi Laura Anna had over 1.8 million followers on Instagram, where she shared selfies and snapshots of her life. Gréta Irén, whom the Indonesian outlet Coconuts Jakarta reported as her older sister, announced Anna's death on Wednesday in an Instagram story that is no longer available to view, according to Coconuts Jakarta.
"Laura, so many people love you, so many people miss you," Irén wrote in another Wednesday Instagram story, translated from Indonesian. Irén added she was thankful Anna would no longer be in pain, and that she's "willing to lose you as long as you're not sick anymore." The Instagram story showed a framed picture of Anna surrounded by a funeral flower arrangement and candles.
The influencer had been suffering from a paralyzing spinal cord injury from a car accident with the Instagram influencer Gaga Muhammad in December 2019, according to Coconuts Jakarta. Muhammad wrote that Anna was diagnosed with Cervical Vertebrae Dislocation in a fundraiser he set up to raise money for her medical expenses in December 2019, Coconuts Jakarta reported. Anna began posting videos and pictures about her life with the injury starting on December 17, 2019, when she shared a clip showing a cast around her neck.
In January 2020, she shared a picture of her smiling and wrote in the caption, translated from Indonesian, that she could manage typing alone. Anna wrote in an Instagram caption on December 8, 2021, translated from Indonesian, that she was "really tired" and "traumatized and haven't left the house for 2 years." A post shared by Edèlenyi Laura (@edlnlaura) Numerous Indonesian influencers have made posts mourning her, including Lula Lahfah, who has 2.1 million Instagram followers.
On Wednesday, she wrote in one of the captions spinal cord injury laura Anna was a good friend and that she will always remember and love her. Shandy Purnamasari, an Instagrammer with 1.9 million followers who was featured in the influencer's last post, shared a picture of her by Anna's bedside on Wednesday, writing in the caption that Anna isn't sick or sad anymore and is happy on God's side. Irén, Muhammad, Lahfah, and Purnamasari did not respond to requests for comment.
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Jakarta - Selebgram Laura Anna meninggal dunia pada Rabu (15/12/2021).
Aktris kelahiran 20 September 2000 ini sebelumnya dinyatakan lumpuh total setelah mengalami kecelakaan yang menyebabkan spinal cord injury atau cedera pada sumsum tulang belakang. Spinal cord injury atau cedera sumsum tulang belakang merupakan kerusakan pada sumsum tulang belakang yang mengakibatkan hilangnya fungsi seperti mobilitas dan/atau perasaan.
Kondisi ini umumnya disebabkan oleh trauma akibat kecelakaan (mobil, tembakan, jatuh) maupun riwayat penyakit seperti polio. Cedera sumsum tulang belakang terbagi ke dalam dua jenis, yakni cedera penuh dan cedera sebagian. Cedera penuh terjadi ketika semua perasaan (sensorik) dan semua kemampuan untuk mengontrol pergerakan (motorik) hilang. Sementara cedera sebagian terjadi hanya pada beberapa fungsi sensorik dan motorik saja.
Baca juga: Selain Spinal Cord Injury, Laura Anna Juga Sempat Alami Ini usai Kecelakaan 1. Penyebab spinal cord injury Spinal cord injury terjadi akibat kerusakan pada tulang belakang, ligamen, atau pada sumsum tulang belakang itu sendiri. Cedera sumsum tulang belakang juga bisa berasal dari pukulan yang mendadak pada tulang belakang hingga menyebabkan patah, kondisi terkilir, remuk, atau akibat menekan satu atau lebih tulang belakang.
Spinal cord injury juga bisa terjadi akibat cedera non traumatik, yaitu cedera yang disebabkan oleh radang sendi, kanker, peradangan, infeksi, atau degenerasi diskus tulang belakang. Kerusakan tambahan pada kondisi ini bisa terjadi selama berhari-hari atau berminggu-minggu karena adanya pendarahan, pembengkakan, peradangan, serta akumulasi cairan di dalam dan di sekitar sumsum tulang belakang. 2. Gejala yang dirasakan Penderita spinal cord injury cenderung mengalami gejala sesuai dengan jenis dan lokasi cederanya.
Gejala-gejala yang sering dialami yaitu penurunan kekuatan pada lengan dan/atau kaki, penurunan sensasi (sensitivitas) pada lengan dan/atau kaki, hilangnya kontrol pada kandung kemih atau usus, sakit parah pada leher atau punggung, muncul benjolan yang tidak biasa di sepanjang tulang belakang, hingga kesulitan bernapas.
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Paralyzed in May 2003 while performing a backward flip in a cheerleading stunt, Laura, 16, underwent experimental surgery in China late last year and pursues therapies she and her parents, Daryl and Melody, find promising. Her story illustrates how some people with spinal cord injuries and their families are devising their own solutions and remedies, even building expensive home gyms.
Much like cancer patients and thousands of others who search abroad for cures and treatments, they face questions and skepticism from the medical establishment.
But to them, the science needed to establish safe results takes too long. “Doctors called me a quack before I went to China and now they call me half a quack,” Daryl Jackson said. “They thought I’d kill her. Well, I didn’t.” The journey is costly and time-consuming. Jackson spends at least an hour a day on the Internet reading research on spinal cord injuries. When he has a question, he calls or e-mails the experts.
“We’re definitely in the loop on this,” he said. He and his wife own a Rochester Hills communications firm that distributes Motorola radio systems in metro Detroit. They live in a large, split-level home in a Livonia, Mich., subdivision, but Laura’s injury clearly taxes even their income. As small business owners, the Jacksons are self-insured with a plan that does not pay for any therapy, adaptive equipment or experimental surgery.
Expenses for the trip to China, adaptations to their home and equipment costs now total more than $150,000, all from their savings and fundraisers. Some of the biggest expenses: $40,000 for the trip to China, a $60,000 elevator and $4,000 lift to help Laura in and out of bed, $9,000 for a low-powered laser and $3,500 for an electrical stimulation unit. “Whatever it costs to get her walking will be worth it,” Jackson said. Specialists in the field remain largely skeptical of the experimental surgeries for spinal cord repair (now performed only outside the United States) and some of the technology.
Dr. David Gater Jr., professor of spinal cord medicine at the University of Michigan, said patients are Prone to damaging their muscles, developing arthritis or experiencing overuse problems from too much therapy. Laser applications could break down the skin and “put people at risk of pressure ulcers” or worse injury problems, he said.
The other issue is giving up too many of life’s pleasure for marginal gains, he said. “What about the quality of life, education, spinal cord injury laura productive in society?” he asks.
“All these things can be tossed out in pursuit of something that will provide a sub-optimal output.” Laura and her family see it differently. Doctors “gave us zero hope,” said her father.
His daughter continues to hang out with friends, and she enjoys activities such as shopping and watching TV. Laura’s injury is severe. She is paralyzed from her neck down and requires a Ventilator spinal cord injury laura breathe. At the time of her injury, she couldn’t sit without a headrest supporting her neck in her wheelchair. She wasted away to 90 pounds from 120.
Doctors told the family she would never walk and might not even be able to talk.
The Jacksons’ first big decision was to travel to Beijing for surgery with Dr. Hongyun Huang. Since 2001, he has treated more than 600 patients, mostly people with spinal cord injuries from the United States.
Huang obtains embryonic cells from aborted spinal cord injury laura called olfactory ensheathing Glial Cells. They are derived from the nasal cavity and transplanted directly above and below a spinal cord injury site. After the surgery, Laura, a junior at Livonia Stevenson High School, began going off her ventilator for a few minutes a day, her father said.
She’s now up to 30 minutes off the ventilator when she exercises, he said. He has bought the latest technology for Laura, including an innovative upside-down exercise bike, a portable electrical stimulation unit and a handheld laser. Every day for 20 minutes, Jackson, an electrical engineer, uses the low-powered diode laser unit on his daughter. He bought it after reading about the work of a Bethesda, Md., spinal cord injury laura pioneer, Dr. Juanita Anders. Laura works out two days a week at the Recovery Project, an intensive Rehabilitation facility at the Livonia YMCA.
The other five days, therapists or trainers visit her. A year after her surgery, Laura has grown stronger, gained 25 pounds and has more stamina. She is dependent on a ventilator and a wheelchair, but she can move her shoulders, raise her legs with the help of an electrical stimulation unit triggering muscle movement in her calves and sit on a mat with a large exercise ball behind her. “Laura couldn’t take her head off the headrest of her chair” after her accident, her father said.
Her goal continues to be focused on walking at her high school graduation. “I’m going to walk,” Laura said. Technology charges forward Technology to help disabled people move and walk is changing rapidly. “It’s almost like computers,” said Brad Shebib, Physical Therapist for Wright & Fillippis, a Rochester Hills, Mich., medical device company.
“By next week, the technology seems obsolete.” Here’s a brief summary of some of the new devices being used for rehabilitation of people with spinal cord injuries: Gait-training devices. Mobile frames with harness devices help people regain gait and balance in a progression of physical activities. One of the most advanced systems is made by Second Step for $5,150. Some auto and private insurance plans cover it.
941-545-7580; www.secondstepinc.com. In Michigan and Ohio, Messer Orthopedics handles distribution. www.messerorthopedics.com or call 616-863-3330. Leg braces. Unlike the stiff models from decades ago, the newest brands are lightweight and flexible. One type, KAFO braces (knee, ankle, foot orthosis) are carbon-fiber with a locking knee mechanism that helps move the leg when a patients is walking. Orthotist Bill Messer designs each pair individually.
They also can be shortened once mobility is established. They are used in conjunction with walkers. $8,000 to $14,000 for a pair. Insurance coverage varies. Contact information for Messer Orthopedics listed above. Exercise bicycles and treadmills. There are many types, including models attached to electrical stimulation units. Another approach to locomotion devices is GigerMD, a machine used for people with spinal cord and brain injuries, Parkinson’s disease and other conditions.
It helps move all four limbs while a patient is lying down, taking the load off the back. $11,000. Information: www.gigermd.com. Crutches. Loftstrand crutches are a type of crutch with forearm attachments that help with walking and balance activities. $97. Widely available, including through Wright & Filippis and other medical equipment companies.
Ibot wheelchairs. A chair that climbs stairs, moves on a variety of terrains, and elevates or lowers for eye-level contact or to roll under desks. Cost varies with individual requirements, but the chair is about $26,100 and is covered fully or partly by some insurance plans. www.ibotnow.com. Laser: A low-powered diode laser used by Juanita Anders, a Bethesda, Md., laser pioneer. Her lab experiments regenerating nerve connections in injured animals are described on her Web site: http://usuhs.mil/nes/.
Cost: $9,000. Details at www.thorlaser.com. PATRICIA ANSTETT Detroit Free Press • Tags: • Cancer • Computers • Cure • Drugs and Medication • Equipment • Exercises • Family and Friends • Functional Electrical Stimulation • Hope • Medical Research • Medical Technology • Mobility • People with Disabilities • Physical Rehabilitation • Quality Of Life • Spinal Cord • Spinal Cord Injury • Spinal Cord Injury Education • Spinal Cord Injury Recovery • Travel • Treatments • Urinary Tract Infection • Ventilator • Wheelchairs