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from Guatemala

gabriela
  • By gabriela
  • Posted August 1, 2007 at 6:15 pm · 3 replies
  • In Help desk
  • Shared with the public
0 Recommendations

Hello: I am writing from Guatemala, far away from the States. Unfortunately, as most people participating on this discussions, I am writing on behalf of a friend. He was shot Friday, July 27th and has damage on his 4th vertebrae and damage to his spinal cord. He cannot breath on his own, and does not have any sensibility from the neck down.
Eventhough he has been under the best care at a private hospital, we do not have advanced care or technology for this type of injury.
Doctors have recommended us to search for trial opportunities, as funding is limited, but could arrange to travel to a USA/ Canadian hospital.

What are the first steps we should take? How do you start a process of recovery?

Gracias!

Gabriela

3 replies

FuschiaFan

I assume he is a citizen of Guatemala as well? How old is he? Does he have health insurance that will pay for care out of the country? Private funds sufficient for care in the USA or Canada? It is VERY expensive, and I know of no research programs that will fund all his needed care. Have you looked into Costa Rica? Care there is good, and less expensive than the USA. Unfortunately, a cure does not exist currently anywhere, for any price.

gabriela

Hi:
Yes, he is a citizen of Guatemala, and he is 32 years old. He has health insurance that is covering for his treatment now, but will not cover his care in the US, but I am glad you mentioned Costa Rica, because that might be a better chance for him, as his insurance has coverage in Central America. He is in intensive care, stable, as doctors say. Is it true that after a period (someone said 12 days) inflammation will start to decrease, and he might get out of the respirator?
I appreciate your reply, we downloaded a form from the Miami Project, to see if they could take his case. We are waiting for the doctors to complete this document.
What is the normal development of this injury? What is going to happen next?
Thanks,
Gabriela

FuschiaFan

Unfortunately no one can predict at this point if he will improve, or if he does, how much. What what the mechanism of his injury (automobile crash, fall, gun shot wound, etc.)? Has there been any neurologic improvement to date?

Getting off the ventilator (if possible for him) can be a lengthy and arduous process. If he has a strong shoulder shrug, this is somewhat a predictor of being able to get off the ventilator, but he will need an ICU team that knows how to do this with a person with a SCI. It may take days or weeks to get him off the ventilator if the damage to the C3-5 part of the cord is not too severe.

You might want to download the clinical practice guidelines on respiratory management in SCI from the Consortium for Spinal Cord Medicine as they provide some guideance in this area. You can get them on this page:

http://www.pva.org/site/PageServer?pagename=pubs_generalpubs#cpg

Share them with his current physicians and nurses and ask that they read the section on ventilator weaning.

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