3 Stories of Miraculous Recovery from Paralysis

While paralysis serves as many people’s worst fear, there is always reason to have hope. There are a number of stories of people, paralyzed by injuries, who later made some kind of recovery. While their cases are rare, they are certainly amazing. Here are three of the best stories of recovery, reminding you to never give up hope and always look forward to the future.After leaving his girlfriend’s house, 16-year-old Wesley Battles crashed his car into a tree just a few minutes from his home. The accident left him unconscious for two days with a number of severely broken bones and a damaged liver and pancreas. Ultimately, the severe neck and brain injuries he sustained caused his right side to be paralyzed. His condition was extremely rare, as most people who suffer the combination of injuries that Wesley received do not survive. Wesley’s father, a brain injury rehabilitation expert, developed a rehab program for his son that utilized the motor skills Wii teaches. Within two weeks of his accident, he was bowling on the Wii, and regular play led to full movement of his right arm and right side. He credits the game console with the return of his motor skills and cognitive reasoning, and as a result of his success his father has developed a testing program for Wii as a rehabilitation program.In 1987, Chris Waddell had come to Middlebury College to ski for their Division 1 Alpine Skiing team, one of the nation’s most competitive. A sophomore student in 1988, Waddell was warming up for a day of practice when his ski popped off. He sailed off into the trees, the impact causing crushed vertebrae, a severed spinal cord and the end of his walking days. Two months later, his determination to return to Middlebury became a reality, although he had lost close to 50 pounds and the majority of his muscle. His coach and a school organization got him a monoski, also known as a sit-ski, which got him skiing again. After graduation, he joined the United States Disabled Ski Team in the Paralympics. Later, he raced in his wheelchair at three summer games and four more winter games, winning a total of 12 medals. Waddell also became the first paraplegic to attempt to climb Mount Kilimanjaro in a modified hand-controlled bike. He did not recover from the injuries he sustained, but he did become the most ambitious version of himself!Adrian Gordon was a track star in high school and a speedy sprinter. The college sophomore was sleeping in a friend’s car while they drove on the Long Island Expressway when a back tire blew out, ejecting Gordon from a back window. He broke his spine, requiring an emergency spine stabilization that left him completely paralyzed. He had no voluntary motion in his body other than his eyelids. He stayed paralyzed for two weeks, until one night he found he could wiggle his toes. Seven weeks later, he was walking with crutches. He continues to work on his walking and motion, with a hopeful eye towards to the future.Learn from these examples: no matter what happens in life, there is always reason to believe that things will change for the better. This is an important lesson to learn, whether or not you are paralyzed. Read more interesting wellness and health-related articles Chicago Chiropractic clinic website. Our blog has numerous posts on these topics.