Spinal Cord Injuries

Among the worst injuries a person can have is spinal cord injury resulting in paralysis either quadriplegia or paraplegia. We are fortunate here in Atlanta that we have two great rehab centers for traumatic spinal cord injury: The Shepherd Center and the Emory Rehab Center. Both are excellent. Some of our spinal cord injury clients who have been treated at one or both of those places have really inspired me. We had a quadriplegic client who was determined to return to college teaching and write books with the assistance and technology that were provided through the money we were able to recover for him in his case. One young woman who was a paraplegic due to her injury, moved out west on her own and became Miss Wheelchair California and did such things as adaptive surfing with TV stars. Both physical and emotional aspects of spinal cord injuries are devastating. However, one may work through that depression to see that even under the most adverse circumstances, sometimes the glass is still half full. I never cease to be amazed by the resilience of the human spirit. Some people with these injuries have gone onto accomplish great things in life even getting elected to Congress and graduating from Harvard and other things you would never expect. Inspired by them we try and keep abreast of the advances in medical treatment of spinal cord injury. Understanding the full range of the effects of spinal cord injuries such as muscle spasticity, pressure sores, autonomic disreflexia and so forth is important to be able to explain those to judge and jurors and is essential to trial advocacy for spinal cord injury survivors. If you or a loved one have had a spinal cord injury that was someone else’s fault, give us a call. We are just a few minutes from both Shepherd and Emory and would be happy to meet with you wherever is most convenient even at the hospital so you don’t have to leave your loved ones side. I look forward to talking with you.