A family member’s perspective… (I plan to write about this subject from time to time; here is the background)…
My son-in-law Kirk became paralyzed from the neck (shoulders) down at the age of 29, after a diving accident in Lake Minnetonka on a sunny August afternoon. It was devastating, to say the least. He and my daughter Melissa had a two-week-old baby at the time, who is now a wonderful, rambunctious four-year-old. They’ve adjusted to life with paralysis, which involves much more than not being able to use hands, arms, legs and feet – It involves bodily functions, temperature, blood pressure and ability to fight infection.
The event got a lot of news coverage…
https://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/new-dad-paralyzed-diving-accident-article-1.2314711
https://cspbears.com/news/2015/8/4/BB_0804153013.aspx?path=baseball
https://minnesota.cbslocal.com/tag/kirk-ingram/
http://www.fox9.com/news/young-dad-paralyzed-after-diving-in-lake-minnetonka-finally-returns-home
You can read more about their journey here…
https://www.caringbridge.org/visit/kirkingram
Concordia University Commencement Speech, May 2017…
An inside look at how they’ve adapted: see them interviewed on this “Access Health” infomercial video about at home catheters (their story begins at 02:30)…
Kirk and Melissa are also active in Get Up Stand Up 2 Cure Paralysis, a local non-profit organization that promotes education, research and peer-mentoring for spinal cord injury sufferers and their families…
https://www.gusu2cure.org/about-gusu.html
https://www.gusu2cure.org/board-of-directors.html
For several months, Kirk was cared for at Courage Kenny Rehabilitation Institute. He is enrolled in their ABLE program and continues to work hard on his recovery, maintaining and gaining function…
You can read more about SCI at the Christopher and Dana Reeve Foundation website too…
https://www.christopherreeve.org/living-with-paralysis
Our hearts go out to all those who are struggling with spinal-cord injuries or other causes of paralysis. We hope and pray for a cure, or even incremental advances in science and medicine that can make a huge difference in SCI sufferers’ quality of life. You are not alone.