Question
I have a friend that rolled over his vehicle and as a result has broken c7 and bruised and (partially?) contused his spinal cord.  they said at the time of pick-up (when they found him) he could still move his legs and feet.  He is having surgery to put two plates on c7 to hold it back together.  No one will give me a straight answer as to whether it is reasonable to hope that he can still walk again, do you know?  I read many of your responses to questions and have suggested to the people in his care that they get him a cd player and bring his cds to him.  Is there anything else that would help ease his time especially the time he spends alone?  he is currently sedated and has limited morphine injections and has two people who visit him all day long (during visiting hours).  I wish i could be there but my college is 10+ hours away and i can't miss classes (too close to graduating, one step would mess it all up and he would never forgive me for that).  What should i expect for the next several months as to how he will be mentally?  he is a very active person who works outside everyday, all day, rain or shine(not really physically fit though).  Sorry to ramble a bit, i hope you don't mind if i have questions later too.  Thank you so much for reading!

Answer
hi adele-

from your description i'd say he probably won't walk again- i'm sorry to be blunt but i too hate the runaround. i of course cannot say for sure, though- i have no idea whether being able to move his legs at the time of being found is a good sign or not. it could indicate an 'incomplete' injury

the bruise is the problem- as it swells it takes more and more of your functioning away (bruises to the cord are permanent). i am sure they pumped him full of steroids to stop its progression, and it sometimes takes a while for the swelling already there to decrease.

as for how he'll be mentally- wow, how to answer this? i will tell you how i was, short version, but much of how he will be will depend on who he is, yes? the sedation is mostly meds that are highly amnesic, so for a while he'll be pretty much looped. i remember people who don't exist (and their families, and stories they told me, etc). morphine leaves you in a foggy grey sort of a world.
rehab is a bit better- no longer stuck in the same room all day. but it is..not easy to learn to do things you took for granted again. and then when you return home and have to consider your new place in the world you used to feel comfortable in...

sorry to trail off, that was feeing a bit heavy. the process is rather miserable, because you have to adjust to things you never expected to be without. basically those who go into it as independent (even stubbornly so) people seem to handle it far better, and seem to do better at getting back into things afterwards.

now, i will apologize for rambling..
please write again if you'd like
good luck
leslie

ps- something that might help later- my mom kept a basic journal of what happened when, and saved all the notes i wrote (since i had a trach and couldn't talk). helps fill in the morphine gaps..