Tag Archives: paralyzed

Links for the Spinal Cord Injury Community

Posted by on January 28, 2016 under Resources, Very Urological | Be the First to Comment

The National Spinal Cord Injury Statistical Center released figures from 2015 that state: “Given the current population size of 313 million people in the U.S., it is estimated that the annual incidence of spinal cord injury (SCI) is approximately 40 cases per million population in the U.S. or approximately 12,500 new SCI cases each year.” Many individuals with a spinal cord injury often use urological supplies, which we here at TotalHomeCareSupplies.com offer our customers. With that in mind, let’s explore several of the informational and supportive sites online for those with the injury, and please comment below if you have others you’d like us to add!

United Spinal Association
From their About Page: “United Spinal Association is dedicated to enhancing the quality of life of all people living with spinal cord injuries and disorders (SCI/D), including veterans, and providing support and information to loved ones, care providers and professionals.”

Christopher and Dana Reeve Foundation
Their mission statement: “The Reeve Foundation is dedicated to curing spinal cord injury by funding innovative research, and improving the quality of life for people living with paralysis through grants, information and advocacy.”

UAB Spinal Cord Injury Model System
“The University of Alabama at Birmingham Spinal Cord Injury Model System (UAB-SCIMS) maintains this Information Network as a resource to promote knowledge in the areas of research, health and quality of life for people with spinal cord injuries, their families, and SCI-related professionals.”

Mayo Clinic
The Mayo Clinic offers definitions, symptoms, test explanations, complications, what to expect from the condition and from doctors appointments and more.

Medline Plus – Spinal Cord Injuries
This government site has a basic explanation of the condition, resources to learn more, videos, research, and patient handouts.

MedicineNet
This site is part of the WebMD family, and their About Page states they’re: “an online, healthcare media publishing company. We provide easy-to-read, in-depth, authoritative medical information for consumers via its robust, user-friendly, interactive website.”

Spinal Cord Injury Zone
This site is a “not-for-profit Spinal Cord Injury educational Knowledge Base. The mission of The Spinal Cord Injury Zone is to archive important Spinal Cord Injury News and Spinal Cord Injury Information for education and awareness.” They also offer personal stories of those with spinal cord injuries.

What is: Cerebral Palsy?

Posted by on September 11, 2014 under Caregiver Corner | Be the First to Comment

A look at cerebral palsy

Many caregivers out there are caregiving for children, teens or adults with cerebral palsy. And many caregivers of other individuals may wonder: just what is cerebral palsy?

Cerebral palsy is essentially a term for all disabilities that come from damage to the part of the brain that controls motor skills. It varies wildly in each diagnosed individual. Cerebral palsy is not a disease, it is not contagious, it is not hereditary and there is no cure. There is no way to prevent the disease as it is usually caused by an accident of some type. Regular prenatal checkups are always a good idea, but generally cannot prevent the types of accidents that cause CP.

It’s entirely possible that you could know someone for years and never know that they were diagnosed with cerebral palsy. And someone you think has CP could have a different disability entirely. Each person is affected differently, from a simple issue like hard-to-read hand writing to being fully paralyzed. Some people have trouble with speech, some have trouble with cognition, some have trouble walking, while some experience immense pain.

Because there are so many ways CP can affect someone, it’s hard to tell what they might be capable of later in life, with therapy. Physical and other types of therapy can make all the difference with CP and, in general, the earlier the diagnosis the better.

There is very little known about CP, unfortunately. There are some options available out there for helping beyond therapy, including stem cell transfusions, surgery and hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT). While these may make movement and cognition easier, again, there is no cure. But many with CP are living very full lives. TotalHomeCareSupplies.com thanks their caregivers for all they provide. And a shout out to everyone showing cerebral palsy who’s boss!