The Saginaw News

The media train keeps chugging along. I received a call on Monday from a reporter at the Saginaw News who interviewed me back in the spring before I left for Potugal. He interviewed my parents, my grandmother, and me for a follow up story on how things have been going since I returned to therapy. The link to story is down below.

I've already received offers from a few people interested in being my press agent. We're still working out the contractual details on the salary and benefits package, crossing the "I"s, dotting the "T"s, etc. Basic legal stuff; kind of boring.

The Saginaw News

Dr. Lima stateside

The Detroit Free Press ran another article on Dr. Lima's procedure and some of the people who have undergone the operation in today's paper. My two cents are towards the end of the article in what I'm dubbing "The Buzzkill Section." For the record, I said that I was disappointed that I lost the sensation I had in my leg prior to the surgery, but that the experience as a whole was very positive. And that I believe more positive things are still to come. I guess that sort of comes through in the article. Here’s the link:

Detroit Free Press

When I met with Dr. Lima last week I also got a chance to meet one of the Italian doctors he’s working with in his research. One of the interesting things that Dr. Lima mentioned was the fact that the patients in Italy are rehabbing with very little reliance on leg braces, unweighted assistance, or electrical stimulation. Dr. Lima said that the Italian doctor was very surprised to see how much the patients and the therapy at Rehab Institute utilize those types of external supports. Their belief is that if you force your body to adapt to certain situations that with time it will.

In the news

In their on continuing coverage of people with spinal cord injuries and the various treatment and therapy options that are available, the Detroit Free Press ran an article today about Charlie Parkhill, one of the co-founders of the Recovery Project where I do my therapy.

Use this link to read the article

In related news, the Recovery Project has their website up and running again. For those that are interested, you can read up on their philosphy and a little of what I do there. I submitted some information about myself for their Client Profiles section. Although I need to log a complaint, with either the person who transcribed my responses on to the site or the person who helped me fill out my questionnaire, because I think some of my answers have been paraphrased. Also, I’m apparently now a big fan of water sports. That's something I never knew before.

Link to The Recovery Project website

In a couple of weeks I'll be getting another crack at newsprint superstardom. A week and a half ago I sat down for a brief interview with the same reporter from today's article. My interview will be part of a larger story about people with varying degrees of SCI and I'll let you all know when that runs and where to find it.

Movie Review

Murderball (2005)
Rated R for language and sexual content
Runtime: 88 minutes

Yesterday I met with some friends to see the film Murderball. It’s a documentary that follows the story of 2004 United States wheelchair rugby team. This movie originally came to Ann Arbor over the summer and the Michigan Theater held a special screening of it again last night, but when the movie first came out I decided I didn’t really care to see it.

First of all, I wasn’t all that interested in wheelchair rugby by itself. There is a lot I do miss about playing sports, but I don’t think I necessarily want to get involved with sports if they’re just going to be a compromised version of something that I used to enjoy being able to do to its full extent. For example, I played intramural flag football while I attended the University of Michigan, but it was never as fun as playing an impromptu game of tackle football down at Elbel Field with my friends. This was mostly due to the fact that the over-abundance of rules in IM flag football restricting the contact between players removes aspects of football game play like determination, toughness, will, and hustle. Aspects of the game, which if you’re not necessarily blessed with great size and speed, still allow a person to be very competitive playing tackle football. Every time I hear someone comment that I can still enjoy doing the things I used to do, but that they just have to be done differently I have half a mind to say, “Well, then I’m not really doing what I used to do. Now I’m doing something different.” That’s kind of how I see a lot of adaptive activities. I played in a wheelchair football game a few weekends ago, but because of how distorted the game needed to be to facilitate the varying levels of ability of those involved (myself included), it wasn’t the game I used to enjoy being able to play.

Secondly, one of my other reservations about seeing Murderball is the fact that I’m already living this life. I equate it to a story a friend of mine told upon his return from basic training in the Army. Every so often, the recruits during basic training get to have a movie night. As he told it, a lot of these guys would suggest that the platoon should watch Full Metal Jacket, Platoon, or Saving Private Ryan. To which my buddy's reaction was something along the lines of, “Fellas, we’re IN the Army! We already know what it’s like to be in the Army. How about an escape from reality?” That’s how I felt about Murderball. I already know what life is like in a wheelchair. There wasn’t going to be anything in this film that would teach me something that I didn’t already know.

As it turns out Murderball is a very good movie. In terms of just simply being a documentary, Murderball is done well. The story of the team and their success is compelling, but it is the background information on the players as individuals with spinal cord injuries that I felt really drives the movie. If you’ve been following along with some of the previous postings I’ve written and found yourself with questions about spinal cord injuries this movie addresses a variety of issues that I or anybody else with a spinal cord injury deals with at some point. There were parts of some of the players’ stories that I closely identified with. Some parts that I found to be very emotional for me. It didn’t really make me want to get involved with wheelchair rugby at this point in time; although there were several players from a Michigan-based wheelchair rugby team answering questions about playing wheelchair rugby after the movie last night. I do think Murderball is worth your time and money. From what I’ve read it might be hard to find in theaters now, but its release to video and DVD is not too far off.

May stick to certain types of skin...

Here is some absolute ridiculousness I encountered today and another example of why functioning, flexible fingers and opposable thumbs was an excellent trait for our proto-simian ancestors to pass along to us down the evolutionary line.

I inadvertently super glued my mouth shut this morning.

Yeah, that's right.

What did you do today?

I have this lap desk that I often use while eating, making lunch, transporting objects around, what have you, and it has a plastic edging to keep things from sliding off of it and on to the floor. It is probably the most useful and used piece of adaptive equipment in my arsenal. The edging was something that we came up with when I was in occupational therapy, and it is not secured to the lap desk itself, just pressed and molded to the edge. Well, I broke that plastic edging off of it this morning. I knew that I needed to remedy this situation as soon as possible, because without the edging I could easily foresee future problems I didn’t want to deal with: the dropped lunch meat, spilled soup, broken dishware, crumbs everywhere. The list goes on and on. These are all things that had been avoided, for the most part, by modifying the lap desk in the first place, all those months ago now. Luckily, I had a couple of tubes of superglue, which I figured I could use to make the repairs. I had open up a new tube, however, to finish the job and that’s when things got exciting.

In what should normally be a very simple procedure, opening a new tube of superglue definitely has its possibilities for mishaps. This was something I felt extremely conscious of as I embarked on my task. The last thing I wanted was superglue all over my hands, pants, wheelchair, etc. Yet to get the tube open, you have to unscrew the applicator tip, puncture the foil seal covering the tube opening, and then screw the applicator tip and cap back on. For me, this means using my teeth to unscrew the cap to get the tube open, and using my mouth to squeeze the tube because I needed to free up my hands while gluing the edging back on the lap desk.

Somewhere in the midst of trying to puncture the foil to open the tube, I suddenly realized that the corner of my mouth was glued shut. I could also sense that some of the glue had gotten on my teeth. I'm not sure if any glue actually came out of the tube or if it was just the fumes from the glue that caused my lips to get stuck together, but regardless I was stuck.

Fortunately, even though superglue bonds instantly to skin, something about the conditions inside my mouth kept me from making, what I can only imagine to be a rather embarrassing trip to the emergency room. In fact, after a several swigs of water and a few goings over of my teeth with my thumbnail everything was back as it should be. I'm not endorsing poor dental hygiene, but I can only assume that the relative ease of my de-gluing is due to the fact that I had just finished breakfast, not yet brushed my teeth, and that a healthy layer of overnight plaque buildup and Life cereal residue prevented a super tight bond. Induced vomiting proved to not be necessary. For this, I am thankful.

Go, go gadget legs!

Yes, as of August 8th I’ve started using my new standing legs braces as an integral part of my rehab program. I go to therapy three times a week and at least two of the three days I’m doing some sort of work that gets my legs moving. The idea is that, even though I’m not yet able to move my leg on my own, moving my legs through the walking motion is very beneficial in keeping up muscle strength, bone density, blood circulation, hip and leg flexibility and so on, that doesn’t happen with me just sitting in my chair all the time. Also, it is believed that by doing the assisted walking we may be able to retrain or rewire my body to do the walking motion on its own.

So the new pictures I put up in the photo gallery show me doing some of those exercises. The first two (blurry) pictures are of me using the unweighted treadmill walking system. I get strapped into what is basically a parachute harness and then get suspended over a treadmill. My therapists can control how much weight is taken off of my legs and then they move my legs on the treadmill. My job is to try and stabilize my body from swinging back and forth too much, but the therapists end up doing most of the work. This exercise will often cause me to have muscle spasms that make my legs want to straighten out which the therapists have to work against. But after walking for a few minutes those spasms tend to go away and I usually get about twenty to thirty minutes of walking done.

The rest of the new photos are from the first time using my new leg braces. They don’t necessarily look like it, but they do indeed cost $14,000. They’re custom molded to my legs, made from carbon fiber, and contain a special German-engineered knee joint that, according to the orthodist, is what makes them so special. In days of yore, a standing leg brace could be set in two positions, unlocked at the knee for sitting, and locked for standing. My braces, because of this new knee joint can be set in those two positions, but also in a third setting that allows the brace to lock and unlock based on the position of the leg. So, for instance, if I’m wearing my braces on the unweighted treadmill they will lock as my leg swings forward through the walking motion so that I can bear weight on that leg. As my leg swings back the knee joint unlocks at a certain angle to allow the knee to bend so my leg can be brought forward again. At least that’s how they’re supposed to work. We’re still working the kinks out on that one.

In the pictures of me with my braces on, besides noticing what a tall drink of water I am and that I really needed a hair cut, you’ll see that the braces are always locked. This is because all of my weight is being supported by my legs. The walker I’m using is designed to help me stabilize my upper body, so it has arm supports, bracing in the front and back to help keep my waist secure, and a sling-like seat, but the braces allow me to stand completely upright. What I’m doing in the pictures is shifting my weight from side to side to allow my therapists to move my feet forward. In time, as I get more trunk control and stability back, the plan is that I’ll be able to use my torso to swing my legs forward on my own.

My Left Foot

If you thought 970 words on contact lens placement was entertaining and informative, here’s another 960 on my left big toenail. I wrote this a few weeks ago after my first visit to a podiatrist, but didn’t get around to posting it until now.

I whacked my big toe at some point during the winter, and it still hasn't healed properly. What happened was the skin along the side of my left big toe nail sort of separated from the nail. Sometimes it's fine, sometimes it will bleed a little bit, sometimes it looks infected, but until lately it hasn’t really been anything that I worried too much about. I mean, the last time anybody died from ingrown toenail had to have been the Civil War. One of the things I've learned since my accident is that I heal a lot slower now than I used to, so I've just been expecting my toe to take a longtime to heal. Lately, however, I've noticed that the skin that should be along side of the toenail is trying to grow over the toenail. So I decided that I had some time this week to make an appointment with a podiatrist.

The first thing to discover about making an appointment with podiatrist is that they must be very low in the hierarchy of medical professionals. If you open up the Yellow Pages, and go to the blue section where all the physicians’ names and numbers are listed, you won't find any listings for podiatrists. Podiatrists are listed outside of that section, and the more I think about podiatry, it kind of makes sense. I can't think of any minor foot problems that there aren't over-the-counter remedies for, and if it's a problem like a broken toe or foot people usually go to their regular doctors for that sort of thing. I’m imagining the world of podiatric medicine as a place where not much changes, to the extent that the annual International Conference of Podiatric Doctors probably takes place every two years. All the breakout sessions at the conference usually just disintegrate into bitch-fests about how they can get back at that “turncoat” Dr. Scholls, with his dizzying array of powders, shoe inserts, and mole skin.

I ended up making an appointment with a podiatrist primarily based on the proximity of his office to my apartment, because ultimately I think that’s what is important when finding the proper podiatrist. My other selection criteria, was that this doctor actually had an advertisement in the Yellow Pages not just a listing. I figure that on the extremes you will either get the podiatrist who is well aware of podiatry’s second-class citizenship in the world of medicine and is out to change that standing, or the podiatrist who went podiatry school because podiatrists still get to be called doctor and still get to be paid somewhat like a real doctor. These types of podiatrist are on par with the proctologist that chooses to go with vanity license plate “ASSMAN.” The rest of the world's podiatrists, fall somewhere in between those two extremes.

I'm happy to report that my podiatrist is more likely to get grouped with that second group. I need a little entertainment mixed in with my life-threatening medical experiences every now and then. One thing that keeps him from being completely lumped into that second group is the fact that he’ll make house calls. So when I arrived at my appointment and he wasn't actually there I thought to myself, “Must be a making a house call.” No, he pulled up shortly thereafter, in a late-model BMW, which I learned that he was test driving for his wife. "My wife wants to buy that BMW. We have five Weimaraners; they'll destroy the inside of that car."

When the doctor inspected my toe he explained that he was going to have to trim the loose skin away from the nail for it to heal properly. What he didn’t explain was that this also meant cutting away a portion of my toenail all the way to the cuticle and then pulling it out. Judging by the way my toe started twitching around, this was causing a great deal of pain. Luckily for me, I couldn’t feel it at all. The narration I was getting from my podiatrist as this was going on went something like this, “Look at that sucker gush blood,” and “This one’s just going to want to bleed.” When he went to pack a piece of cotton ball into my wound to stop up the bleeding, my toe would twitch as he touched it, his quote was “luckily I’m pretty good at hitting a moving target.” On referring to his tools and work space after bandaging up my toe, he said, “let me clean that bloody mess out of your way.” 

When I went back a few days later for my follow-up visit to get the bandaging taken off my podiatrist assured me that he couldn’t guarantee that the nail and skin would grow back properly. However, it was going to take so long for that the nail to grow back that I didn’t need to worry about it right now. This is perfect for me because that’s exactly how I ended up there in the first place. So, as long as I have my doctor’s professional opinion backing me up, I’m going to say that my toe worries are over for now.

My Right Eye

I know things have been a little quiet on the Care Pages front recently, but don't take my silence as a sign that nothing’s been happening. Quite the contrary; I'm back to doing therapy three days a week and I’m finding that when I get home I'm pretty tired. I’m taking that as a good sign for now, but I’m also taking lots of naps. So I don’t always get around to checking e-mail and things quite as routinely as I’d like. I do have a post in the can about an interesting and fun-filled trip to the podiatrist ready to go of these days. Keep on the lookout for that one; it’s a real barn burner.

For the last couple of days, I've been going around half blind, unable to see clearly out of my right eye. It seems that when I woke up Friday morning and went to rub the sleepy sand out of my eyes, my right contact lens decided to jump ship. I wear two-week disposable contacts, but ever since the accident, I’ve been wearing them 24-7 for weeks at a time, because with my limited hand function I can’t change them myself.

When I was first at St. Joseph’s Hospital, I tried to go back to wearing glasses for a couple days because of this contact changing problem. I realized though that when lying in a hospital bed with my neck immobilized, I could only see what was directly in front of my field of vision; which at that time consisted of the ceiling tile. I went back to wearing the contacts so I could have a wider field of vision. It required getting used to having somebody stick their fingers in my eyes, which you’re probably not supposed to allow, but over time I’ve gotten accustomed to it. Gradually my mom and I worked out a system that when she comes down to visit on the weekends, she changes my contact lenses for me.

Last weekend, when my mom was down to visit, we changed my contacts for the first time in many weeks. And on Friday morning, when my right contact lens decided to make a break for it, I was fairly steamed because I had just gotten this new pair in. I could go a whole week with one lens in and one lens out, thankfully my vision isn’t that bad, but it definitely isn’t the most ideal situation. So, I knew I was going to have to figure out how to get my contact back in my eye. I don't know what motivated my contact to try to jump out of my eye. It must’ve gotten word that this was going to be a longer enlistment than it originally signed up for. "I know when you were packaged up at Accuvue we promised you two-week Tour, but these drastic times call for drastic measures, Soldier. And no, you won't be able to come off the line every night for a soak. We may be able to bring some saline up to the front every now and then, but I can't promise anything."


Miraculously, I was able to catch the lens before it got lost, or torn. I placed it on the headboard where it wouldn't get knocked on the floor and where I would be able to retrieve it later. After I got up and had breakfast, I went back to get my contact lens and discovered it all dried out and shriveled up. On Friday morning I have early therapy, so I didn’t have time to mess around trying to resurrect my contact. I left it soaking in its case and went off to therapy.
For those who’ve never put in a contact lens, it requires extensive finger dexterity. Back in the old days, mine was a two-handed procedure, with the contact perched on the tip of the index finger of the hand corresponding to the eye in which I was attempting to insert the contact. The other fingers on that hand had the job of pulling my lower eye lid down. I would then use my opposite hand to reach over and hold my top eye lid open as wide as possible; pretty standard operating procedure, really, but nearly impossible with non-functioning fingers.

Over the course of the last three days, I've made several attempts to put the contact back in. Unfortunately, I'm now literally all thumbs, as those are my only fingers that extend without any special assistance. I’d place the contact on the end of my right thumb, and use my left hand to stabilize, resting my elbows on the edge of my sink, but every time I would get hung up on my long, dreamy eyelashes and the contact would turn inside out, maybe fall into the sink, my lap, or on the floor.

I tried numerous times until my eye was sufficiently bloodshot and irritated and then I’d quit. I just couldn’t get my eye open wide enough. This morning though, I decided to change my approach and use the thumb on my left hand to come underneath my right hand to pull my lower eye lid down. Thus, attempting to get the opening I needed to insert the contact.

I don’t know if the stars aligned properly at that exact instant or if I summoned enough of the Force to turn off my navi-computer, but it was as easy as riding a bike into an empty two-car garage. And what a difference in clarity! Two contacts is much, much better than one! Will I return to the days of taking my contacts out every night and putting them back in my eyes in the morning? Probably not, but at least now, if ever the need arises, I know it is physically possible.

Waiting

I’ve been back from Portugal for over a month now and I’m still waiting to find out when I will be starting therapy in Detroit. The interest that is being generated by the various reports about the operation I underwent in Portugal has created a logjam of patients waiting to receive therapy. Rehab Institute is in the process of hiring more therapists to accommodate everyone. Hopefully, I will begin my therapy beginning in June; although the fact that they haven’t been able to pin down a starting date for me yet, has been frustrating.

One of the reasons I’m so anxious to begin therapy, aside from staving off extreme boredom, is that in these reports of what other patients are accomplishing, I keep reading of goals they’ve recently achieved that I’ve surpassed months ago. And in most cases, my injury was more recent than these other patients. It makes me want to know what more I will get back as I undergo the rehabilitation process myself.

In related news, in conjunction with the CBS News report, the Free Press ran another article following up on Cortney Hoffman’s progress. Yours truly received some anonymous publicity in the article. In the section entitled “Making Progress,” in the second to last paragraph of that section, my recovery thus far is acknowledged. I’m one of the patients described as having “temporary loss of sensation,” and a “type of meningitis infection.” Those may not seem like things to go tooting one’s own horn about, but keep in mind we’re talking about being one of only two people to experience those complications in the HISTORY OF THE WORLD (of the relatively small sample of 52 patients, to date, who’ve undergone this one, experimental procedure)!

So in the time being, I’ve got that going for me.

If you want to read the article, point out my section to your friends, coworkers, neighbors, etc. and say, “I know one of these guys,” click here.

It's Not C.S.I., but...

Here's the link to last night's CBS evening news segment that profiled the surgery and some of the patients who are undergoing rehab in Detroit.

This is Lumbar Puncture!

If you didn’t notice, and judging by the lack of messages on my answering machine when I got home yesterday, you didn’t, I’ve been lying low at U of M hospital since midday Tuesday. I went to the ER with a massive headache that started early Monday afternoon and hadn’t dissipated at all through the rest of that day and was still prevalent Tuesday morning. I was thinking that is was dealing with a condition that people with SCI get called autonomic dysreflexia, which is a way the body reacts when there is a problem going on below the site of a person’s injury that the person can’t detect because of the injury. Usually, things like sores or ingrown toenails or even something as simple as needing to go to the bathroom will trigger autonomic dysreflexia; and how a person knows they are experiencing it will be headache or elevated blood pressure or even just feeling very flushed.

So, I went into the ER explaining that I had this headache and when I told the doctors that I had just recently returned from Portugal after having my surgery, that’s when things got a little more complicated. I was subjected to the usual testing: vital signs, blood draws, urine samples. The doctors were concerned about a possible infection relating to the surgery, so they wanted to get a lumbar puncture, a procedure I wasn’t thrilled about undergoing. One of the diamond-in-the-rough benefits of a SCI, though, is the overall lack of sensation when experiencing certain medical treatments. Because the spinal tap is performed so low on the back I really couldn’t feel a thing, which I’m assuming is a real plus with that procedure. The results of the spinal tap did show a high white blood cell count in my spinal fluid, so I was admitted overnight to get an MRI and I ended up staying through until Thursday afternoon. I’m being treated for bacterial meningitis, even though none of the cultures came back positive. I guess I have several of the symptoms, but no real evidence of having meningitis.

I’m home now, needing to be hooked up to two different IV antibiotics every twelve hours, which is always a blast. Since I started on the IVs, my headache has gone away and I do feel better, so hopefully this doesn’t set me back any farther.

News Of the Day

It's probably kind of ridiculous that I, of all people, don't have a primary care physician, but I don't. I mean, who goes to the doctor? I never really needed one before my accident, so when it comes to things like getting surgical staples removed those of us without primary care physicians need to go to the urgent care clinic. That means I get to answer questions from befuddled nurses like, “who put the staples in for you?” and “why didn't your doctor take these out?” After establishing the fact that I brought them back as a souvenir from Portugal, where I underwent an experimental surgery, I had the staples removed. Not a very difficult procedure, but just painful enough to make you wince and distract you as you try to keep a count. I think the total was somewhere in the 12 to 15 range. The doctor asked if I wanted to keep them, but I declined.

I've posted pictures in the photo gallery from Portugal, and I added captions to the old ones, but I think the old ones are pretty self-explanatory by now. Most of the pictures are from after my surgery, so you see me in yet another neck brace. I've decided that neck braces are a good way to eliminate a person's photogenic qualities. Hopefully, I'm done having the back of my neck laid open, and having doctors play around with my spinal cord. I think twice is twice is more than enough, so I'm guessing I've used up my quota. Dr. Lima did however save some of my extra olfactory cells, just in case down the line I need some sort of recharge.

By my calculations, I saw about 1.5 km of Lisbon, and that would not have been possible without my parents helping me up and over the uncut curbs and pushing me down the cobblestone sidewalks of the area around hospital. Lisbon was not wheelchair friendly, but I didn't really expect it to be. I'm sure there will be future American patients that go there and come away amazed by how inaccessible Lisbon is, but I think it's important to keep in mind that (a) it's Europe and (b) the city is also hundreds of years old. Those aspects of Lisbon that make it difficult for me to get around—the hills, cobblestone sidewalks, narrow streets, etc.—are also the same things that give the place character and that attract tourists to Lisbon in the first place. People don't travel to New York City to marvel at the wide sidewalks and curb cut outs. It isn't those types of things that attract people to visit place. That's not to say it wouldn't take too much to make it more wheelchair accessible, and maybe as more and more people go there to work with Dr. Lima, improvements will be made. I would definitely go back. It's a pretty place, and the weather this time of year was great compared to how slowly spring comes around in this part of the world. But, if there is ever reason for me to go back to Lisbon, hopefully the improved wheelchair accessibility, or lack thereof, will be a moot point.

For now, I have about a week to rest up until I go down to Rehab Institute of Michigan to meet with Dr. Hinderer about starting their physical therapy program. So until then, I should be around my apartment most of the time if you want to drop me a line.

Coming Home

We’re back, and I’ve regained the reigns on the keyboard. There’s plenty to talk about in terms international experiences, possible recovery outcomes, etc, but for the sake of Carepage posting limitations, I’ll keep it down to today’s travel. We got up in Lisbon at 2:30am local (9:30pm eastern Saturday night), which got us to the airport by 4am. This will be more than a 24-hour day, but my plan is to press on until a typical bedtime here to expedite readjusting the body clock back to where it’s used to be. We made it home Sunday afternoon at about 3:30pm. The travel was relatively easy, just long, as expected. The transfers on and off the planes were fine, and any worries we had about negotiating a cross-airport gate change during a one-hour time window in Amsterdam were put aside with the help we received from the airport staff.

On the way over to Portugal, the woman who sat next to me was very much interested in my surgery and so we talked at length about it and she was very helpful in getting me situated. When I boarded today the man in the window seat next to me was already seated and listening to his iPod. So I figured this would be a run-of-the-mill “you do your thing, I’ll do my thing over here” type flights; which is fine because I was gassed and was completely content on just watching the movies and going to sleep. But, up front before take-off, the flight attendants are constantly coming by and offering passengers stuff - drinks, magazines, snacks. I noticed that the flight attendants all knew this guy’s name. You must have to fly a lot to be recognized by the crew, ask you how you’ve been, etc. One of the crew asked him if he was still in Minneapolis, which kind of explained things as Minneapolis, Detroit, and Amsterdam are all NWA hubs. If this guy did a lot of business travel that could account for the name recognition, but he said that no, he was in LA now.

We started talking because I needed his help setting up the TV screen, so he asked about the movies I watched on the way over, which ones were good, and vice versa. The hilarious thing was that he had an LA celebrity encounter story for several of the stars of the films being shown. He explained how it was so strange that he runs into people like Annette Benning and Warren Beatty trick-or-treating with their kids, that Angelina Jolie lives in his neighborhood, and that he told his wife to keep an eye out for Brad Pitt.

I thought that he must be sort of movie producer or studio executive, but it turned out that he is a TV anchor name Paul Magers (pronounced “Majors”) from KCBS in LA and used to be an anchor in Minneapolis for 20 years. He was in Rome covering the death of the pope for the local LA news. We didn’t talk much about the pope, but I guess his crew spent the entire trip doing live feeds back to LA, so they were in the middle of the night for most of their time there. But here’s what I learned from Anchorman Paul Magers about the pope: (1) he’s not embalmed. Magers said, “He was looking pretty bad by the Friday, sunken cheeks, drooping nose and chin.” (2) the pope literally has no possessions. Magers said, “even his shoes are issued to him from the Vatican.” No word on if they took the shoes back. (3) their crew was setup on the roof of a monastery, and he said they felt bad because in the course of a live newscast, it’s inevitable there will be the occasional problems, and they kept swearing in front of the nuns.

He ended up being pretty cool and very knowledgeable about Michigan in general. He’s a big fan of the Boyne Mountain – Traverse City region. He said if people from northern Minnesota saw some of northern Michigan, they probably wouldn’t think so highly of themselves. I guess he has some golf buddies who went to Michigan State, and he commented on how they were always wearing their green MSU stuff. We talked Michigan football. He asked why Michigan doesn’t go undefeated every year, and I was like, “You’re preaching to the choir, man.” But I told him lately it was the inability to stop mobile quarterbacks. He got a kick out of the fact I told him OSU fans are notoriously hostile to Michigan fans in Columbus, and that they only graduate 40% of their student body (that might be a slight exaggeration).

After we landed in Detroit, as he packed up all his stuff, we're exchanging well wishes, etc., he asked me, “Dan, have you ever seen the group Train, perform?” To which my reply was, “No,” expecting him to suggest I see them in concert, like maybe that was what he was jamming to on his iPod earlier. He then said, “But you know who they are. Seen their videos?” “Yes.” “Well I’ve been trying to think of who you remind me of, and it just dawned on me that I think you look like the lead singer of Train.” I didn't have the heart to tell him I think Train sucks.

When I got home, I tracked him down online, and here’s a link to his video coverage of the pope. The thing is his TV voice is way deeper than his actual speaking voice.

Post-Op Day 7: Dianne writing on Dan's site

Yesterday afternoon, Dan definitely felt stronger. Dan, his mom and dad decided to enjoy the beautiful afternoon here and stroll on down to the Praça Imperial near Dad's hotel. His dad had scouted the area for the most wheelchair accessible sites, and still we found the journey challenging. There are almost no curb cutouts, so we had to lift the chair over curbs or dare the Lisboetas who drive the avenues like it's the Indy 500. Dan endured the bumpy cobblestone sidewalks without pain to his neck and enjoyed seeing some of the statues and buildings that he hadn't had a chance to see since we arrived.

Later, we sat in a café near the park and enjoyed a couple of glasses of cerveja, which is really quite good. As it became time for dinner (7:30 pm), we decided the restaurant there was as easy as any to get a wheelchair into. Dan enjoyed his costeletas de porc as a nice change from fish. By the time we had wheeled him back up the hill to the hospital, we had all had enough of an outing. Dan was doing fine, but his dad had definitely had a workout.
Today, Dan feels good, except for a little low blood pressure upon getting up. Dad says the backs of his legs ache from pushing the chair uphill. Dr. Lima stopped and checked Dan's sense of smell. Dan doesn't think he lost any smell or taste (as they only harvested material from one side of his nose), so one less side-effect to deal with. Dr. Lima also checked his legs, and thinks that the feeling is coming back slowly. We exchanged addresses, phone numbers and e-mail, and Dr. Lima said he will see Dan in Detroit when he comes to visit. He will continue to follow Dan's progress in a long-term study. He gave us the discharge papers for Saturday.
We will actually leave the hospital Sunday morning around 3:30am to be ready for our 6:00 a.m. flight back home. Matt and his family do not fly out until Thursday next week. They were not able to get an earlier flight reasonably, so have decided they will see as much of Lisbon as they can while they're here. We said our good-byes to Dr. Lima, as he hopes to have the day off Saturday and Sunday.
This afternoon, Dan and his dad are outside sitting in the sunshine. It is cool enough today for a light jacket, but we certainly cannot complain about the weather we have had so far. We look forward to seeing you when we get back to Michigan. The libraery is closed on the weekend, so this will be the last posting from Dianne until we return home.
Love to all Dan's family and friends.

Post-Op Day 6: Dianne writing on Dan’s site.

Dan had a couple of tests this morning, but we expect them to come back okay. He had no fever in the night, slept quite well, and is feeling stronger today.

Dan spent some time before we came down here talking with a 38-year-old man from Greece who had been examined by Dr. Lima for surgery later this summer. They had a nice discussion and exchanged e-mail, address and phone numbers. We have met some very nice people here. Everyone (except the banks) has been very helpful and friendly. If you even attempt to speak a little Portuguese, they go out of their way to be nice. Most people (especially under thirty) have very good language skills. We have learned that school children learn French (which is a linguistic cousin of Portuguese) as a second language in 3rd grade, and add English later. When you ask, "Do you speak English?" most people say, "A leetle bit." Then they proceed to astonish us with their language skills, even in fairly technical word areas. It's embarrassing not to be able to respond even a tenth as well in their language, but they seem to appreciate that we try. As long as we don't speak Spanish to them, they seem happy.
Weather here is beautiful. The weather forecast shows rain and snow in northern Europe, including Paris, as well as British Isles, but southern Spain and Portugal and supposed to be warm and dry throughout the rest of the week. We plan to take Dan out to the nearby neighborhood this afternoon, so the sunshine is appreciated, thank you very much.
Well, Dan's dad went up to the hospital room to get his camera. He wants to photograph Daniel doing his e-mail and show folks back home this hospital library. They do a lot with few Euros. It isn't University of Michigan, that's for sure.
Thanks to all of you for your messages. We get a kick out of hearing from you, because it's hard to get much American news at our hotels and on TV here at hospital. We have to go online to find out sports news, for example. Dan was pleased to know the Tigers won their first game.

Portugal

Hello everybody,

We arrived yesterday to the hospital around 2:00pm local time. The trip over was rather uneventful, there was a lot of waiting to get off of both flights, but no unexpected mishaps. Riding in business class was definitely a treat. It’s almost absurd how much more comfortable and spacious the seats are. The co-pilot on our way to Amsterdam was a dead-on match for Cliff Claven from Cheers.

My surgery will be Friday at 4:00pm local (10am eastern). We met with Dr. Lima today and I will be #51 to undergo this procedure. I will most likely be laid up for about three days after the operation and according to Dr. Lima the first day will be the worst in terms of pain and discomfort. Towards the end of the trip I may get a chance to do more extensive sight-seeing, but being as Lisbon is old and situated among several hills, getting around by wheelchair won’t be the easiest thing.

Later, Dan

Pre-Portugal Update

Here's an update on everything that's gone on or is going on to date. The combined fundraising efforts of family, friends, friends or friends, coworkers, and complete strangers helped me raise over $69,000 in the last 6.5 months. $46,200 of that money is funding my upcoming surgery in Portugal. The remainder and all other future fundraising will go towards my rehabilitation when I return.

I have 395 contacts in my address book of people, couples, and families that sent donations through checks, that I have been able to return thank you notes. That figure doesn't include all of the countless others who gave cash donations at the various fundraising dinners, soup luncheons, coin drives, and the pasty sale. And that figure also doesn't include everyone who helped organize & run those various fundraisers. The efforts that everyone has put forth, on my behalf, are truly phenomenal. I’m extremely thankful.

My mother, father, and I will be leaving tomorrow (Tues, March 29th) afternoon on our way to Portugal. I can thank friends who have friends in high places for financing my flight and getting me an upgraded, first-class ticket. This will be my first flight experience separated from the huddled masses back in steerage, so I’m definitely looking forward to taking advantage of all the accoutrements and services in front of the curtain. But, it will also be my first flight since my accident so it remains to be seen how wheelchair-using air travel differs from my previous ambulatory air travel experiences. The airline industry does not have a sterling reputation when it comes to accommodating wheelchair users.

We will arrive in Lisbon around 1:00pm local time on Wednesday and my surgery is scheduled for sometime on Friday. I don’t know how much sight-seeing I will get to do while we are there, but I guess that will depend on how much needs to be done at the hospital before Friday and how long I’m laid up at the hospital after. We will fly home on Sunday, April 10th.

A couple weeks after I get back, I will start at Rehab Institute of Michigan in Detroit with their physical therapy program.

Depending on the availability of computer access, I’m hoping to get a chance to post an update or two while we’re in Portugal.

Coming At You With 50,000 Watts

Good news on the fundraising front. We've raised enough money to get me to Portugal for the operation, so now the money that we're raising is going to the on-going therapy fund. In other news I'm expanding my media barrage out beyond the printed page. The rest of this post is a description of my first venture in radio publicity. 

Tuesdays with Morrie, a.k.a. My Two Minutes with Mitch Albom 

I received a phone call this morning on my answering machine from a producer at WJR 760 AM radio asking me to do an interview with Mitch Albom on this afternoon’s show. When I first checked the message I thought the producer said “WJLB,” which is Detroit’s hip-hop station. Before I called back, I contemplated the hilarity of having to bring a little bit of soul to my voice in order to not sound out of place on the air on WJLB. I was also trying to decide who would and would not make my list of shout-outs. Fortunately for me, when I called back I found out this was not the case, and instead I spent the afternoon getting ready to be interviewed on WJR afternoon talk radio. The only thing I knew before going on air was that I was going on at 5:30. I emailed everyone who I thought might be within WJR's 50,000 watt broadcast range to tune in, and to those people, if you tuned in and missed the interview, don’t worry because I wasn’t on very long. 

Here's a recap: The producer, who refers to himself as “Rosie,” called at 5:30 and notified me that the radio station would be calling me back in a few minutes. So as I waited for them to call me back, I found myself trying to clear my throat and repeating, “hello," over and over. When the station called back, it wasn’t my boy Rosie at the other end of the line, but a woman named Julie, one of the studio engineers. She told me that she was going to put me on hold, and that the next voice I would hear would be Mitch’s. While on hold I heard the commercial that was leading into the next segment and then I heard Mitch Albom introducing my story. At this point I still have no idea how long the interview is going to be or specifically what he's going to ask me. 

From what Rosie told me when I spoke to him this morning, they picked up my story and the information about a fundraiser my school is doing for me from an article in yesterday's Oakland Press. That became apparent as I listened to the intro because Mitch Albom basically paraphrased the article on air as he was interviewing me. It’s kind of funny, but I felt like the only answers I could give to the questions he asked, aside from “yes, Mitch that’s what happened,” was to summarize what he had already just summarized. 

Now I don’t think I’ve ever heard more than five minutes of Mitch Albom's show, so I don’t know how long most of the interviews are or how he normally conducts them, but I got the feeling that he was trying to move as quickly through the interview as possible. I don’t think that’s because he didn’t care about interviewing me, but I think it's just be a byproduct of trying to get as much information out as possible in the time allotted. So, I was trying to be conscious of keeping my answers short and concise, but then he dropped a little bomb on me about whether or not the reason I was going to Portugal for the surgery was because of the debate over the ethics of performing stem cell research here in the United States. 

Woah, what happened to the human-interest puff piece, Man? A worthwhile answer to that question requires some thought and nuance that is definitely going to exceed the 15 seconds you are going to give me to respond. I mean, we can discuss that if you want to, but I'm going to need time to talk about where the cells come from, what the FDA looks for when conducting clinical trials, and why people with spinal cord injury are choos… What? Next question? Okay, moving on. 

So, at that point I was a little flustered, and I think I heard myself pull an Austin Powers and repeat…myself. But, all things considered, it went pretty well and Mitch Albom plugged the fundraiser my school is having for me this Thursday night. That in itself was also kind of funny because according to him the fundraiser is going to be held at Papa Romano's restaurant, which if that is correct, means I didn't know the location has been changed. I'll have to get clarification on that one. 

After Mitch Albom signed off with me, Rosie came back on the line and said they’d probably like to do a follow-up. Based on today’s interview, I can only imagine the follow-up will go something like this: 

Mitch Albom: A few months back we spoke to Daniel Young, who, if you remember was planning to go to Portugal to undergo a stem cell transplant surgery. Well, the surgery was a success and he’s back here doing therapy in Detroit. So Daniel how was your trip to Portugal and what are your plans now? 

Me: Well Mitch Albom, like you said it was a very successful trip and now I’m doing therapy several days a week at Rehab Institute. 

Mitch Albom: Great news. Good talking to you. We’ll be back.

365

One year and counting. I could take time to give a fairly detailed accounting of what I was doing exactly one year ago today. I could probably break the day's activities down to the hour or even half-hour in some parts, but as I got later into the day's events my recollection would become more and more incomplete. So, instead I'll just say, I am here. It's been a wild year, but I'm ok.