Life's not over! It's just different!

On the 24th February 2015 Jake was having fun at home doing various gymnastic moves including a front flip. Unfortunately due to a split second mis-timing he landed on his head culminating in multiple fractures to the C6/C5/C4 vertebrae in his neck. The bone fragments from C5 damaged his spinal cord which resulted in immediate paralysis.

  An operation was done straight away to try and prevent more damage to the spinal cord. What was left of C5 was removed and a cage put in its place, bone fragments were placed in this cage to encourage grafting. C4-5-6 were plated together. There was a problem with the nerves to Jake's diaphragm which made breathing very difficult and he contracted pneumonia. He was put on life support (ventilator and sedation) for 9 days.

Jake spent 6 weeks in the ICU at Royal Devon and Exeter Hospital where the care and staff were superb. During this time it became apparent that the damage to the spinal cord was catastrophic and had rendered Jake a quadraplegic (tetraplegic). He had movement in his shoulders and elbows only, which was limited. During this time Jake was pushing himself to become clear of the ventilator. A tracheostomy was put in and breathing was assisted through this. I cannot stress how much effort Jake made to enable himself to breath unaided and cannot thank Lou (ICU respiratory physio) enough for her encouragement and faith in him.

A further operation was conducted by Mr Hutton and his team to stabilize the back of Jakes neck. This involved scaffolding C3-4-5-6 together, and would allow for him to be moved around safely and to ensure future stability.

14th April saw Jake moved to the Duke of Cornwall Spinal Unit in Salisbury. This Unit is dedicated to providing rehabilitation to people with spinal injuries so that they can integrate back into the community and direct their own personal care. They do this well but do not provide intensive therapies for improving nerves/muscle tone and personal strength.

Not many can believe the improvement Jake is making due to his own determination and sheer will. He has managed to get from an assisted wheelchair to a manual one and although is still building strength to manouvre himself around is making progress each day.

Jake has no mobility in his hands or wrists nor from the chest down. The muscles in his chest and back are minimal and he has no tricep movement. With this is mind he is trying to concentrate on getting some sensation/movement back to his hands/wrists as this is what is stripping him of any independence. At the present time he needs assistance with drinking, eating and all personal care. If he cannot get the intensive therapy he needs (and deserves) then he will be reliant on carers 24hrs a day. For a 28yr old chap this is very disheartening and not helpful to his mental or physical welfare.

We have investigated intensive therapy treatments in the UK but they are mostly limited to the Royal Buckinghamshire Hospital. The cost of attending there is prohibitive and the NHS (Spinal Unit) are reticent in referring Jake under the Foundation Trusts rules on private care. With this in mind we have been investigating Project Walk in San Diego. They have a proven track record of helping people with a SCI to make the best of what they have and show real improvement which in turn enriches their life massively. Jake would like to work towards going to America to give him what is possibly the best chance of regaining some sensation/movement.

Click on the link for information:

Project Walk

As a family we would be devastated if we did not look at all the available opportunities for Jake to improve his dreadful predicament.  Some may say, why can't his family look after him? We are more than willing to do this,  but be aware that Jake has been independant since he was 16yrs old. He has made his own life and losing his mobility and his independence would be too much for him to bear.
Already his is looking into a career change, as blatantly can no longer be a builder. Jake is not one for sitting around feeling sorry for himself and is eager to be the best he can be.

Many family and friends have felt so helpless and have asked me what they can do to help. Jake absolutely loathes any kind of thought that he is a charitable case and it has taken considerable persuasion to get his permission to allow me to set up this blog.  The main aim is to chart his progress and also use the opportunity to raise some funds so that he can get the extra therapies such as FES (electrical stimulation) , Bariaric chamber (oxygen therapy) and plan a trip to America.

There is a link to donate if anyone wishes to, but please do not feel under any obligation. We are just as thankful for you to follow his progress.