How long can the body hold out as a paraplegic?

[funklab]

I just turned 40. I'm feeling old. My mother is waiting on rotator cuff surgery (not related to SCI in any way) and it got me thinking about what life is going to be like as my body inevitably deteriorates with old age.

I'm single and I've lived alone for the past 15ish years since my injury and for the moment I'm working. If I'm able to work into my early 50s I should be in a very comfortable place financially, but I don't know how long it's realistic that I could expect to live alone.

Obviously no one can say when I might have a shoulder injury or a fall or a pressure sore that will take me out of commission.

What's the oldest or longest you've heard of a paraplegic living independently?

[SCI-Nurse]

I had a paraplegic patient of mine who was injured in WWII and died at age 96 about 10 years ago.

You can see statistical averages here, but remember that people who take better care of themselves are very likely to exceed these numbers.
https://www.nscisc.uab.edu/public/Fa...sh%20Final.pdf

(KLD)

[funklab]

Thanks, KLD, that was interesting to look through. It doesn’t directly address my main concern about how long one can expect to live independently.

But it was encouraging that a higher proportion of people were employed at 30 or 40 years post injury compared to 10.

[SCI-Nurse]

In my experience, those with paraplegic injuries can usually live a long time independently, but with aging and other chronic illnesses, and when shoulders give out, many needed to have PCA assistance as they got older (like 70+yo). (KLD)

[funklab]

If I can make it anywhere close to 70 living mostly independently, I will be extremely satisfied with that outcome.

I think I’m just a bit overly anxious. With all the creaks and pops and pains of getting older I worry that something is going to go catastrophically wrong soon.

[stephen212]

Funkhauser: I don't know whether this will come as good or bad news to you, but I was injured at age 23 (T4 complete) and will be turning 63 one week from today. I had a minor rotator cuff tear around 15 years or so ago that was treated successfully with a single cortisone shot. I was discovered to have chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) when I was 54. I was in watch and wait for 3 years before starting treatment with targeted (non-chemo) and have been in a deep remission for the past 5 years. I would say that my overall health is at least 90% as good as it was when I was first injured in 1983. No skin issues; bladder and bowel management is excellent; some minor osteoarthrtis in my hands (from wheelchair pushing wear and tear) but nothing compromising my ADLs. I presently live alone (yes!!!) and manage all of my household chores independently. I matched with Sharon Stone on Bumble 3 years ago practically to the day and we had a date. (I can't imagine my younger, woe-is-me, who-will-ever-want-me-again SCI self would have ever predicted that!) I was married for 20 years and have a 23 year old son sired from the fruit of my loins.

So don't think the actuarial ride is going to end sooner than it might have if you weren't SCI'd. I NEVER thought I'd live this long.

[funklab]

Funkhauser: I don't know whether this will come as good or bad news to you, but I was injured at age 23 (T4 complete) and will be turning 63 one week from today. I had a minor rotator cuff tear around 15 years or so ago that was treated successfully with a single cortisone shot. I was discovered to have chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) when I was 54. I was in watch and wait for 3 years before starting treatment with targeted (non-chemo) and have been in a deep remission for the past 5 years. I would say that my overall health is at least 90% as good as it was when I was first injured in 1983. No skin issues; bladder and bowel management is excellent; some minor osteoarthrtis in my hands (from wheelchair pushing wear and tear) but nothing compromising my ADLs. I presently live alone (yes!!!) and manage all of my household chores independently. I matched with Sharon Stone on Bumble 3 years ago practically to the day and we had a date. (I can't imagine my younger, woe-is-me, who-will-ever-want-me-again SCI self would have ever predicted that!) I was married for 20 years and have a 23 year old son sired from the fruit of my loins.

So don't think the actuarial ride is going to end sooner than it might have if you weren't SCI'd. I NEVER thought I'd live this long.

Thanks for sharing your experience. This does give me hope for a relatively healthy next couple decades.

Also... are you saying you went on a date with the actual Sharon Stone? Like the famous actress Sharon Stone?

[pfcs49]

No, I think HE was stoned

[funklab]

That seems much more believable.

[stephen212]

Also... are you saying you went on a date with the actual Sharon Stone? Like the famous actress Sharon Stone?

Yes. A date. With Sharon Stone. The famous one.

[funklab]

Yes. A date. With Sharon Stone. The famous one.

and there you were getting my hopes up only to have them crushed again. Some of us are mere mortals who don’t go around dating famous actress sex symbols…

jk jk. That’s awesome man. If I’d ever gone on a date with Sharon Stone that would be the first thing I told everyone I met for the rest of my life. Good on you!

[stephen212]

Having a date with Sharon Stone is not the high watermark of my life. (I told her it was something that she would someday tell *her* grandchildren about!) The roundabout point I was trying to get across is that all of us at various (and multiple) points along our SCI journey feel like we're down for the count and piss and shit on ourselves (not literally, but yeah, sometimes literally), feel crumpled up and that life is pointless (it is pointless, but that's for a separate thread).

Following our injuries our internalized ableism auto-dictates a narrative about how dreary and miserable we'll be now that we're injured and so much less-than we were before. We will forever find ourselves behind a giant 8 Ball. And then we persevere, because that's what evolution has wired us to do, and we surprise ourselves. Dating (one time) Sharon isn't so much an accomplishment as it is (was) a surprise, and a shock, to that long-ago written, and long-ago discarded narrative.

So don't assume that your paralyzed body is axiomatically going to give out prematurely and along with it your hopes and expectations of a normal life. Live long enough and the unexpected -- the *good* unexpected -- will show up along with all the usual dross.

[rdf]

"...axiomatically going to give out prematurely and along with it your hopes and expectations of a normal life."

The irony burns.

[Patrick Madsen]

[youtube]

[SCI-Nurse]

Video link is not working. (KLD)

[pfcs49]

Having a date with Sharon Stone is not the high watermark of my life. (I told her it was something that she would someday tell *her* grandchildren about!) The roundabout point I was trying to get across is that all of us at various (and multiple) points along our SCI journey feel like we're down for the count and piss and shit on ourselves (not literally, but yeah, sometimes literally), feel crumpled up and that life is pointless (it is pointless, but that's for a separate thread).

Following our injuries our internalized ableism auto-dictates a narrative about how dreary and miserable we'll be now that we're injured and so much less-than we were before. We will forever find ourselves behind a giant 8 Ball. And then we persevere, because that's what evolution has wired us to do, and we surprise ourselves. Dating (one time) Sharon isn't so much an accomplishment as it is (was) a surprise, and a shock, to that long-ago written, and long-ago discarded narrative.

So don't assume that your paralyzed body is axiomatically going to give out prematurely and along with it your hopes and expectations of a normal life. Live long enough and the unexpected -- the *good* unexpected -- will show up along with all the usual dross.

good stuff/agree
and
I'm glad you REALLY DID have that date.
when I was about 13, I danced with Yasman Khan (Rita Hayworth's daughter) but that relationship never evolved

[August West]

I'm T-7/8 complete for 40 years and live independently. I don't see that changing as long as I make wiser choices that protect my health, prevent injury, and enable physical and financial independence.

• Don't rent. Buy a house so you can customize it and stay there for life.
• Use a transfer board to prevent shoulder injury.
• As you age, your knees will tend to splay during transfer. A strap holding your knees together improves form and makes transfers safer and easier.
• Consider lifestyle, exercise, and diet choices before meds.
• Cook from scratch and use the money you save to hire a handyman for things that you cannot/should not do.
• Don't buy a $75K accessible van. You can find one for far less (I found mine for $5K) and fix it up.
• Never carry debt unless it's an investment.

Since, we're going down the road of bragging rights I have to say that I met Muhammad Ali. I was going to work while he was staying in a hotel next door and going for a morning walk. I happened to go in late that day, which was probably the finest coincidence of my life. He was a big talker on TV. But that was all show. He was a humble man, a nice man. He gave me some literature on life after death and signed it. Here is Mohammad Ali not only taking the time to talk to me but actually showing genuine interest in me and even doing a magic trick to entertain me. That's the man he was. More than a boxer, he was an entertainer. It actually looked like he was floating in air. Then he showed me the trick. He lifted his entire body weight on one big toe that was concealed by his other foot. That's how strong he was. I'll never forget this as long as I live. That was the greatest encounter of my life.

[xsfxsf]

No skin issues; bladder and bowel management is excellent

How do you manage that if you don't mind my asking? For me, the last two have been a constant struggle.

[baldfatdad]

i'm 75 a gimp for 43 years. my body gave up a long time ago, my mind just keeps dragging me along. i ain't the brightest bulb in the package. i live by myself. have "girl" friends, shhh don't tell them about each other. take care of 3 acres of land, for the bears, bees, armadillos, rabbits, tortoise, snakes, etc to live on. the smart drive has been the bomb for making my life better and the covid shots have helped my shoulders immensely. and if we're bragging, i've been out with "Mary Ann" Dawn Wells.

[stephen212]

How do you manage that if you don't mind my asking? For me, the last two have been a constant struggle.

I've posted numerous times about each: Botox treatments for my bladder (since 2009) and the Peristeen (transanal irrigation -- fancy terminology for enemas) coupled with digital stim for my bowel program.