Question
Hi John. My 27 year old stepson Josh recently experienced a
severe head injury, a broken femur, a skull fracture,
hydrocephalus, bacterial meningitis in 2 separate and different
incidents and a spinal cord injury due to acquired cerebellar
tonsillar herniation. (Brain herniation) Incomplete spinal cord
injury approximately between C1 and C4.

The Course of events leading up to the spinal cord injury:

Prior to October 9th, Josh抯 brain pressures were normal while
he spent a week in rehab.  Then he suddenly developed
recurrent bacterial meningitis. This bout was of a different
nature than the first time he had it in ICU.

On Monday, October 9th at 11:49 AM, Josh抯 CT Scan and brain
looked good. The neurosurgeon spoke to Josh at 5:30 after his
lumbar puncture. The Dr. stated that he was concerned that Josh
was feeling ill and suggested that the ventriculostomy be put
back in his head. Because the radiograph had demonstrated
improvement, Josh declined the ventric and the Dr. left the
hospital.

5 or so hours after his lumbar puncture, at 10:30 PM, Josh coded
and stopped breathing. He was comatose with no respiratory
effort whatsoever. The Emergency Room was called and they put
him on the ventilator. The neurosurgeon was awakened from
sleep at home at 11:00 and rushed to Josh, arriving 15 minutes
later. He reinserted the ventriculostomy at  once, at which point
Josh awoke and was responsive again. The Dr. said he had
massive hydocephalus. The ventric procedure saved his life but
the Dr. believes the ensuant spinal cord injury has interrupted
his ability to breathe on his own.
Is this type of injury the type where he may never breathe on his
own again? He has no insurance. What directions can we go to
help him? Thanks so much.


Answer
Hi Victoria,
Thanks so much for your questions.

I am truly sorry to hear about this. It sounds like he's been through a lot but to suffer a spinal cord injury too has to be heart wrenching.

My guess is that it's going to depend on exactly where the damage occurred between C1 and C4. My injury was at the C3-C4 level and I can breath on my own for nearly 30 years. Usually, people that have spinal cord injuries at the cervical level have to depend on their diaphram to breathe.

As far as what directions you can go for help, I'm including several websites you can check out. I'm not quite sure what help is available but they contain a wealth of info about spinal cord injuries including many organizations that could help or point you in the right directions.

www.spinalcord.uab.edu
www.sci-recovery.org
www.spinal-cord.org
www.spinalcord.org
www.spinalinjury.net

The spinalcord.uab.edu website is run by the University of Alabama-Birmingham and is one of the most informative sites about spinal cord I've seen. The best place to start is the index. They also list many organizations that help people with spinal injuries.

If you live here in the US, I would also suggest checking out these websites about disability benefits.

www.ssa.gov
www.socialsecurityhome.com
www.cfids-me.org
www.disabilitybenefits101.org
www.disabilitysecrets.com

I sincerely hope this helps and if you have any more questions, please don't hesitate to ask me anytime.

Thanks again,
John McKinzie