To All Who Speak Before They Think

Ok, so I came across this article from the Tulsa World newspaper http://tinyurl.com/2dynca, and it's interesting enough, talking about the Christopher and Dana Reeve Paralysis Act and how Tom Coburn, a Republican senator from Oklahoma is preventing it from coming to a vote. Don't know why; he wouldn't comment. Typical political nonsense. All I know about the Act is what I read in the article. I'm tempted to be in favor of it, because I'm in a wheelchair and we need all the help we can get.

But that's not what has me so pissed off. No, it's the vitriolic hate being spewed down in the Comment section below the article. I normally don't read those and now I remember why. I hate listening to the uninformed opinions of people who have no concept of what being paralyzed means and no interest in finding out. But they're free to email comments so asinine they defy belief.

"I wonder why she thought she needed to try to climb into a fountain." You've never done anything stupid? This comment is just your latest example.

"Good for Coburn. This bill is nothing but false hope and a ton of money. Typical liberal ploy. Play on peoples emotions to fool them into thinking you care about them." Dr. Phil, clean-up on aisle five.

And my personal favorite, from Tobey: "Go Dr.Coburn!!! Screw the whinners. Coburn's doing a GREAT JOB! The idiots who push their limits by doing STUPID stunts must be solely responsible for their actions.Expecting all the rest of US citizens to pay for their DUMBNESS shows their greed and absolute selfessness. " Ah, Tobey. where to begin? First, how do you know it was a stunt? Maybe she went into the fountain to save a drowning baby. You don't know and neither do I. Second, she's greedy and selfish? Because she's doing her part to find a cure for paralysis, which affects hundreds of thousands of "US citizens", as you put it so eloquently, including thousands of military victims? Sounds pretty patriotic to me. Tobey, it's better to be thought stupid than to open your mouth and prove it.

Wow!

It's 11 AM and I just saw Kevin Everett get out of a car and WALK. For those who are not paralyzed, you're thinking "Yeah, so what?" For those of us who are paralyzed, it is a mixture of relief and jealousy almost beyond words. Like Christopher Reeve, Kevin has become a face and a voice for our community. In short order we'll see what he chooses to do with that voice. God speed, Kevin!

No Mouse Or Keyboard Required. Just Think About It!!

In the following article from www.zdnet.com, http://tinyurl.com/3ylbp8
researchers from Japan discuss the latest efforts in mouse or keyboard manipulation using nothing more than brain activity. While they used Second Life (www.SecondLife.com) as the backdrop to the article, I see limitless possibilities for the paralysis community.

For those with little or no use of the arms and hands, or speech difficulties that render voice recognition software such as Dragon Naturally Speaking unusable, the promise of manipulating a computer through thought recognition is unbelievably exciting. Though practical application is likely still years away, the day when computers open up worlds for everyone is definitely getting closer:

People with severe paralysis could find new opportunities from shopping to doing business or making new friends in the virtual world of Second Life by just thinking about it, if experiments being conducted by a Japanese university bear fruit.

In a recent demonstration, Junichi Ushiba, an associate professor at Keio University and head of the project, showed how electrodes attached to the scalp can pick up the electrical changes associated with brain activity.

The data can be interpreted by a computer, allowing a user to manipulate his or her online persona, or avatar, around the streets of Second Life without using a keyboard or mouse.

"When people are paralyzed, of course their lives become restricted," said Ushiba, who as a graduate student took a virtual stroll through the historic streets of Kyoto, Japan's ancient capital, without moving a muscle.

"But with this technology we can interpret their intention to move, allowing them to go shopping in Second Life or even set up a business." http://tinyurl.com/25duz9

San Francisco-based Linden Lab says about half a million people regularly visit Second Life, where commercial transactions can be carried out in Linden dollars, convertible to U.S. dollars.

Ushiba, who spends part of his time working at a medical rehabilitation centre, hopes to have people with paralysis try the system next year.

The project is still in its early days, and the students experimenting with the system must practice for a while and find the best spots on their scalps for the electrodes before they can stroll smoothly around.

"The important thing is to concentrate. You can't really think about anything else," said 23-year-old Yasunari Hashimoto after demonstrating the system.

Loss of focus can result in an inadvertent dive off a virtual cliff or into the sea.

Brain control of computers is already the subject of experiments in other countries, including the U.S. BrainGate system which enables users with an implant to open e-mail and move objects such as wheelchairs.

"We have a lot of members who can no longer move at all," said Yoshiko Umeda, a volunteer nurse with an organization representing some of Japan's 7,500 sufferers from motor neurone disease, a progressive disorder that causes paralysis.

"I think they would very much welcome a system operated by the brain."

Ushiba hopes the random element of Second Life will change the lives of patients immobilized by illness or injury, in a way that clicking buttons to send e-mails cannot.

"In ordinary life you go shopping and you might just happen to see a jacket you like and buy it," he said. "Or the cover of a book might catch your eye. Sometimes you chat with people you just happen to run into," he said. "This kind of chance encounter could enrich people's lives."

Kevin Everett Walking

Buffalo Bills tight end Kevin Everett is walking. That is a miracle in itself considering the prognosis after suffering a severe spinal injury in a Sept. 9 game. Doctors said he would never walk again. But the Bills' doctor placed Everett into moderate hypothermia, as he had learned from a seminar at a Miami Project to Cure Paralysis. Can't say the NFL doesn't learn. Last week, in a minor miracle, the league awarded $113,000 to the Miami Project. It had cut off funding two years ago.

The Running of The Santas!!

Hey Gang,
Came across this little article on www.NorwalkPlus.com about some very jolly guys raising money for the National Multiple Sclerosis Society and having a great time doing it. Merry Christmas!
http://tinyurl.com/29a9a5

Choices? Not Good Ones, Anyway...

I came across this article from Vail, Colorado today (http://tinyurl.com/2c4pek) and it has given me significant pause. I was going to write about how happy I am that I didn't end up in some sort of institution following my accident in 1986. I was 19, broke and clueless. If not for support from my parents, it could have happened so easily. But that is really a story for a different day.

The emotion of sending a loved one off to save yourself is happening this week to my sister Becky's boyfriend, Jim. Jim has two boys with autism and a girl with Downs Syndrome. The oldest boy, Fritz, is 15 and requires constant monitoring and care in order not to be a danger to himself or others. For all intents and purposes, Fritz is a two year-old in a grown man's body.

The strains, physically, emotionally, financially, have become too much for Jim to handle. The prospect of Jim beginning to break down from having to do everything without sufficient assistance from professional caregivers has become quite real.

At the same time, sending the child who needs you so much 4 hours away is tearing Jim apart. Whether it is the best place for Fritz, only time will tell. But in order for Jim to be there for his other children, it is a change that has to happen. Sometimes, there are no good answers.

So, please keep Jim and Fritz in your thoughts this week...

Here's To A Life Worth Living

Welcome all. This is the first posting of A Paralyzed Life. I'll be discussing issues faced by those with spinal cord injuries and how we overcome or adapt to them in order to achieve a life worth living.

I'll also be linking to a lot of interesting articles on people living extraordinary lives, products and services that make our lives better and medical advancements leading to the cure I believe will happen in my lifetime.

I've lived with paralysis since an automobile accident in 1986, at the age of 19, leaving me a C6/C7 quad. Could be worse, could be better. I'm 40 now and been in a chair for more years than I was out of one. More about me should anyone care to know. I don't know about you, but after spending months in the hospital and rehab, I think more people have seen me naked than Pamela Anderson! So much for being shy and private.

For now, I'd like you to read about Molly Fausone, a remarkable young lady who I think will inspire you: http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/chi-temkin07dec07,1,6119072,full.story?ctrack=2&cset=true

Skip Bryan