My name is Tammie Lou. I am 47 years old. I was born in San Jose,California. I was raised mostly in the Santa Cruz Mountains near Los Gatos, California. I am a C-6 complete quadriplegic,
paralyzed from the chest down.
On March 10, 1995, I was in an auto accident on Pacheco Pass, Highway 152, near Gilroy, California. At the time I lived in Los Banos, California and worked in Milpitas, California (about a 90 mile commute, a 1-½ hour drive each way). I was a mail coordinator for Xicor Inc. a semiconductor company. I was in the passenger seat or "suicide seat" as it is sometimes called. I was commuting with neighbors at the time.
It was raining really hard and the pickup I was in hydroplaned and flipped end-over-end I was told.
I woke up in the middle of the fast lane not being able to move, but not yet knowing why. For the next three-and-a-half months I was in Valley Medical Hospital of Santa Clara County. My life after that would never be the same. I broke my neck in the accident. At the age of 33 I began to learn a whole new way of life.
With the help of my family and friends I am going on with my life. I now live with my parents in San Jose, California. I attend a weekly peer support group at Valley Medical Center and I spend most of the rest of my time chatting on the computer internet.
I have started three chat rooms on AOL. I like learning, listening and helping other SCI (Spinal Cord Injuries) victims and their friends and families. We are all trying to understand and deal with our new way of life. It is not easy and if I can help people adjust I am happy to do it.
I would like to go back to work or go to college and take some counseling and anatomy courses and possibly be a counselor or something along that line. For now I just enjoy spending time with my family, old friends and all my new friends online.
In March of 2003 I got my own place. I never imagined that I would be able to live by myself, it is a great feeling. I have a computer program called Multimedia Max that basically runs my house by voice command. Opens and closes doors, turns lights on and off, adjusts the thermostat and even raises and lowers the head and feet on my hospital bed.
I recently got myself a Canine Companion named Brodie. She can pick up things that I drop, open and close doors, and bring me the telephone if electricity goes off or I need help. She makes me feel more confident when I go out and do things and she makes me feel safer living here by myself.
My life is so great now. I try to keep myself busy and take advantage of any surgery that will make me more independent. I recently had Tendon Transfer surgery on both arms. The first one was in June of 2001, the second one was in January of 2002. It has made me so much more independent, I am more amazed every day. It was done by Dr. Hentz, from Stanford University and clinic. He is world known and actually cares about his patients he is the best doctor I have ever met, he answers my phone calls.
I had tended surgery done on my feet in October 2003. My feet were in such bad shape from lack of range of motion that I was not able to wear shoes for two years. It is so nice to be able to wear shoes again...time to go shoes shopping.
Tips that I have learned:
Camelback:
My Aunt is a bicycle rider and she gave me a Camelback water dispenser and it is perfect. I have one beside my bed and one on my chair. I clip it on me so I can get to it easily.
Bed sores:
I thought I had found a miracle breakthrough to keep bed stores under control but I guess there is no miracle cure. I thought that maybe taking a shower or bath every morning and evening and using a knee spreader would help and it does. My legs don't like to separate very well I get a lot of bladder and yeast infections because no air gets circulated when your knees won't stay apart. Using a blow dryer after to keep dry was a good idea but it's not fool proof. Before I get dressed I put Vasoline where I usually get sores and that helps also.
I also went online and found some leg restraints to put on the bottom of my bed to keep my legs apart while sitting up, there is some pretty kinky stuff out there, I tried to look for medical restraints but the only ones that I found were for pleasure not medical reason but worked just as well. During the night I need to lay on my side and the leg restraints help with that also. Sometime during the night and usually have a spasm and it rolls me over on my back and there isn't much I can do but by using the leg restraints I can keep my legs crossed and keep me on my side all through the night.
H. wave:
I'm sure I'm not the only one who has a problem with bowel programs? It doesn't always happen when we want or when it is most convenient. I found out by accident, no pun intended, that an H. wave machine or TNS unit really helps a lot. I was doing some rehab at transitions when I discovered that I have scoliosis. They decided to try the H. wave machine to see what would happen. After the about 20 minutes I started getting chills really bad like when I need to evacuate my bowels. After this happened about three or four times I started to wonder if we have something here. I tried hooking up the H. wave machine about 20 minutes before it was time to evacuate and it worked great so I mentioned it to my doctor and she's now doing a study.
Yeast infections:
As I had mentioned before I get a lot of yeast infections, I got a lot of them even before my injury but after it only got worse because I cannot get my legs to separate. At my housewarming party we got on the subject, I have no idea how, and somebody told me that garlic is really good for curing yeast infections and it works really fast. I have tried the creams and the pills and it maybe cleared it up for a day or two but it always came back. Since I have used the garlic, which works with one application and works overnight, I have only got in a few it sure is great. The biggest problem is trying to figure out how to insert the garlic and how to retrieve it, I haven't figured that one out for sure yet but I will and I will let you know.
Nutrition Guidelines for people with active pressure sores
*note-these guidelines are general and may be modified by your physician or dietician as appropriate.
Current weight:______ weight in kg: (lbs/2.2) ______ Presser sore stage:______
Stage 1 sores need 1.1gm of protein/kg/24 hours
Stage 2 sores need 1. 2 gm of protein/kg/24 hours
Stage 3 sores need 1.3 gm of protein/kg/24 hours
Stage 4 sores need 1.4-5 gm of protein/kg/24 hours
Your current needs: (weight in kg x protein needs per stage) ______gms of protein per day.
Good protein sources include meat, fish, poultry, cottage cheese, soybeans, tofu, and milk products. Choose low-fat options when possible to avoid unwanted weight gain. You can purchase some protein powder in bulk at health food stores (and some grocery stores) and add it to your food to increase protein intake. It adds well to foods such as oatmeal, shakes, and baked goods.
Water is necessary to assist with wound healing. 8 8-oz glasses per day is recommended as a minimum. Carry a sports bottle with you at all times to ensure that you have access to plenty of water.
Supplements recommended:
Basic multivitamin-1 tablet per day
Vitamin C 250 mg two times per day for nonsmokers, four times per day for smokers
Zinc sulfate-220 mg two times per day, or elemental zinc 40 mg per day
Vitamin A-2500 every day for 14 days. Stop after 14 days
Arginine-7 to 15 gms her day
Glutathione-10 to 20 g per day
The above supplements are necessary to promote wound healing. For example, a deficiency in zinc can lead to a delay in wound healing.
For more specific recommendations for yourself, consult your doctor, nurse, a registered dietitian. Above guidelines are general guidelines only and do not include special dietary needs such as for diabetes.
There are four stages of a pressure sore.
Stage 1 - Damage is limited to the top two layers of skin, the epidermal and dermal layers. The skin is not broken, but there is redness that does not turn white when touched. A person with dark skin will also see a change in skin color, which may become darker, dry, flaky, or ashy. The area may be warmer than other areas, and there may be a change in the skins texture.
Stage 2 - Damage extends beyond the top two layers of the skin to the adipose tissue. The skin is slightly broken. The sore appears to be an abrasion, blister or small crater.
Stage 3 - Damage extends through all the superficial layers of the skin, adipose tissue, down to and including the muscle. The ulcer appears as a deep crater and damage to surrounding tissue may be present.
Stage 4 - Damage includes destruction of all soft tissue structures and involves bone or joint structures. Undermining of ajoining tissue and sinus tracts may be associated with these sores.
Stage 1 and 2 pressure sores are usually treated without surgery. Stage 1 treatment is almost always bed rest because it is essential to stay off the pressure sore to allow healing. Other treatments might include wound care, improving nutrition, pressure reliefs and exercises. Treatment for muscle spasms may be necessary to allow the wound to heal.
Surgery might be used for stage 3 and 4 pressure sores located on the sacrum (tailbone), ischium (beneath the buttocks), and trochanter (hips). Surgery may also be needed to treat sores that have not responded to non-surgical treatments, correct a previous surgical failure, remove infection from the hip joint, and prevent exposure of bone, plates or screws.
"You can put anything on a pressure ulcer and it will heal, as long as it is not the patient"
