I know I am not the longest living quad but I will be 80 in April and am now 28 years post C4 complete. I have so much to be thankful for, on December 26 I was admitted to the hospital septic and with osteomyelitis buried deep in the sacrum and covered over. I don't remember a thing, but it was obviously touch and go for several days. They were able to scrape deep enough to get everything out, and my iron levels are now on the upswing from seven to 10. I was able to come home with a wound vacuum, a state of the art 24 hour antibiotic pumping system thanks to the doctors who believed in me and my support team that I would be better off at home. I am already feeling much better, and have only praise for the doctors and nurses at the hospital. Usually there first words were we are not very knowledgeable about high quads, so please tell us what you need and how to do it. My master gardener group has been an enormous support, I am so pleased that I took that time five years ago to join the volunteer group as it has given me a broader base for help. I'm told it will be several months or up to a year to heal, but with god's help I plan to do it. It sometimes takes so much energy to keep up the social and family connections, but I am so grateful that I was able to. Now im a walking talking superwoman, antibiotic pump, wound vacuum, Amazon Echo throughout the house so I can turn lights on and off, heaters on and off, fans, call for help if my voice activated Samsung S6 dies, voice activated computer, voice activated kindle, and hopefully a never ending conviction that my life is worth something and then I am still needed for something or somewhere down the road. Happy new year to everyone, and may each day of your life be a good one. Love to this great community of ours thanks to Jim Lubin. Joan
Life is 10% of what happens to us and 90% how we react to it. From: Lori Michaelson <[email protected]> Sent: Saturday, January 05, 2019 9:41 AM To: Greg <[email protected]>; quad-list <[email protected]> Subject: Re: [QUAD-L] Oldest living Quads Ditto along with what Greg said except I feel like I am dying of pain and 3 bacteria that keep coming that are multi-drug-resistant. Thing is... I was healthy 3 years ago and it took "one insect to damage so much grain" (Elton John's words) when a nurse ruptured my urethra forcing me to have surgery and a different type of catheter that I never wanted. Then the hospitals I was in for the ones that those bacteria are found in. Then once you get these particular bacteria... it's almost impossible to get rid of them. What is more disabling for me or has made quadriplegia 80% harder is acquiring Posttraumatic Syringomyelia. I took my endurance down so much that I had to quit working back in 1995. Then, when I began to have different caregivers in 1997 pain started happening. It didn't feel like I was being moved wrong or anything but something was going on because it started where the shunt was put in (T1 or a little higher) and started moving down my spine and wrapping around under my right shoulder blade. A pain medication who keeps it tolerable but if I cry it hurts 100% more and the pain lasts for several days, if someone touches it or pushes in on that area it hurts badly like now because yesterday during a doctor visit she wanted to listen to my lungs and the shunt is put into my pleural cavity so I asked her what muscles are around that area because if I overuse my right arm (those are the muscles I need to use my only working arm) it hurts 100% more. You are probably wondering if my shunt is working or have I been checked out and the answer is yes. Almost a year ago or close to it I have been having trouble getting in the chair I can't figure out the reason. I only have my live-in caregiver to do it with my electric lift. My scoliosis has gotten worse over the last 3 years and especially the first year after moving back to Arizona (2016) I was leaking all over the place because of my urethra being stretched beyond repair and until I could have surgery (or figure out the extent of what happened before that) and I had to roll back and forth around 10 times a day and stay in bed because of the amount of leaking around my urethral catheter. Since my husband's death I still have those stress-related Psychogenic Nonepileptic Seizures especially when it is a very stressful day and there is pain accompanied by it as well as being tired. So those are now a part of my life. My lower extremity edema got worse the first three months after moving out of here and I wouldn't put it past stress for that to get worse over the years. I do everything I'm supposed to do and the compression stockings (gradient or otherwise) do not help. My ankles and feet just stretch them out and they are not old. So I can't spend as many hours in the chair as I would like to. I now feel like I am just a patient. I am wondering if any of you have and to having neck fusion after your injury? I did back in 1980 and I guess the neurosurgeon did not want my neck going anywhere because it is used from C2 through C7 so I can't turn my head left or right very far at all. ~Lori C4/5 complete Quad. Age - 54, 39 years post On Sat, Jan 5, 2019 at 8:01 AM Greg <[email protected] <mailto:[email protected]> > wrote: I'm 54, 36 years post. I feel like the body of the oldest quad ever. Yesterday I dressed up just a bit, jeans instead of sweats. That's all it took to break open my butt. Its only a skin break down, not deep, but did bleed. Greg On 1/4/2019 11:58 PM, Dana Wray wrote: Congratulations Billy On Wed, Jan 2, 2019 yat 5:06 PM Billy Lang <[email protected] <mailto:[email protected]> > wrote: I will be 70 in May, 30 years post in July. Just got a real good reason to hang around. On Dec 26, 2018, at 4:48 PM, Jim Lubin <[email protected] <mailto:[email protected]> > wrote: Some of the quads in this group are the longest living that I have seen. Maybe it's the good company. 😀 Merry Christmas On Wed, Dec 26, 2018 at 1:15 PM Bobbie Humphreys <[email protected] <mailto:[email protected]> > wrote: Depends on a lot of factors I ca feel myself dying, I'm at 46 years Merry Christmas 🎄 Bobbie On Dec 26, 2018, at 1:48 PM, Shirley Bell <[email protected] <mailto:[email protected]> > wrote: Hi Guys, Merry Christmas!! kinda late. My family has me dead and buried before long! Made me mad. I am 59 been a quad 41 yrs. Are there any stats on life expectancy of us? thanks -- "Petting, scratching and cuddling a dog could be soothing to the mind and heart and deep meditation and almost as good for the soul as prayer." ~Dean Koontz
