A quadriplegic is a person with a spinal cord injury that affects all four limbs, whereas a paraplegic has an injury that affects the lower limbs. That's an in a nutshell description. Basically spinal cord injuries vary a great deal because the spinal cord is long and injury can occur at any point on it. Injuries at the cervical level usually results in quadriplegia .
Spinal cord injuries may affect trunk control, bladder function, respiratory function and heat/temperature control, among other things. They may result in loss of sensation or function - or both. Injuries can also be complete or incomplete which causes variations.
Confused yet? Well, there are alot of variations from person to person as you can see.
So here's a link to spinal cord 101 with more specific information.
4 comments:
OK, you asked for it LOL. I'm assuming you have some kind of Personal Assistant for such things as personal hygiene, etc. Are you able to live by yourself, or must you have assistance 24/7? I'm being REALLY nosey here, but does the government pay for any and all equipment and aides you and other quadraplegics need to be as independent as possible? Or do you depend on private insurance? The costs must be astronomical, and I can't imagine most individuals being able to afford appropriate care on their own.
I live by myself and have an aide. I work. The government does not pay for any of my equpment . I work and pay for my own equipment, alot of which is not covered by any other source. Friends have also helped out with major equpiment costs and for renovations I have friends who have donated labor. I get help paying for an aide,and I do appreciate that but the hours I get don't cover what I need so I have to add to that. And in order to keep that money output down, my aide overextends herself beyond what they pay. My nephew also pitches in when he can. Insurance? It's not very helpful with alot of ongoing costs of a severe disability, at least in my experience. The program I have my aide through is similar to what they are talking about in other posts about living int he community as opposed to nursing care - it allows me to be on it however even though I choose to work which is wonderful because I would go nuts without working. That is why disability rights groups are pushing for money to follow the person into the community- because we do need help for personal care and most people cannot afford these costs.
I appreciate your candid answer. I'm already retired, so the thought of eventually needing a lot of personal help has me wondering how in the world we will pay for it. I don't think our state has any choice to be made between nursing home care and home assistance on Medicaid, and, of course, you can't get Medicaid unless you've basically spent all your money.
I always tell folks to check with your state department of the aging (or it might be called department for senior citizens - they vary) for resources and specific information on what is available from your state. You might be pleasantly surprised that there will be some help from the state itself for personal assistance even if you have some income - you pay on a sliding scale, for example. As the baby boomers hit retirement age, we may see more awareness of this type of need.
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