8
Tuesday, December 2. 1975
University Daily Kansan
Inspiration key for quadriplegic
By DIANE WILSON
KANSAS CITY, Kan.- Steve Spitzenel confined to a wheelchair and is 90 per cent disabled, but that doesn't stop him from being self-sufficient.
Spitzenel, 2, is a quadriplicic, one who is paralyzed in all four limbs.
He holds a full-time job at the University of Kansas Medical Center where he guides his nonlectric wheelchair long distances every day. He said he hoped to buy a car to drive it. He said he was looking forward to taking part in wheelchair sports.
Spiitzerel's most important function at the Med Center isn't the performance of his students' billings but rather his daily inspiration of patients who sustained serious parallelis injuries like his.
HE GOES EVERYDAY to the ward where patients with spinal cord injuries are treated.
"I just hang around and talk to them," he said.
Sometimes, he said, he can see the questions they want to ask but can't bring them. He explained that he has with them and answers any questions they have, he said. He said he ate with the patients in the day room on their ward, and then the patient enjoyed sharing his meals with them.
Spitzenel had limited functions in both arms, nose in his legs and he can't move his hands. He was the last year he underwent a tender transplant operation that had enabled him to close his left hand for the first time since he was 20 years ago in which he was injured.
THE SUDDENESS OF spinal chord injuries causes more than severe physical problems for patients, he said, since one of the most common complications and the next they are paralyzed for life.
The emotional problems of such injuries be said, are often severe. Most patients go to the hospital, but in some cases will be confined to a whelchair. He said that he didn't suffer very depression, and that he felt better.
"It takes a long time to come to reality—to understand the injury," he said, "but once they (the patients) understand where they can set goals and be realistic."
VERY YOUNG PEOPLE and older people find recovery from a neck injury harder, he said. Young people have trouble because they haven't the maturity to accept
the brutal reality of their situation. Older people don't have the physical strength to resist. Young people do.
Being 24-years at the time of the accident gave him some advantages, he said, because he had both the maturity to deal with the emotional problems and the emotional problems and the physical problems. He says he lives live his life with the muscles he can use.
Also, he said, "I want to compete. It gives me a feeling of accomplishment."
THAT'S WHY HE WANTS to join in wheelchair sports. As soon as possible, he said he wanted to get into the para-Olympics, where there were track and field contests and wheelchair races, so he swam towards the wheelchair dash, discuss velcros and shotout events, he said.
"You have to extend yourself—see what you can do," he said.
Spitzenel does extend himself, and has
he be injured. He smiles and his eye
is clear.
"I was ready to get out of that bed," he said.
SO HE LEARNED TO get into a wheelchair and then to make it go. Now he's an expert at maneuvering it, through wide corridors and small offices.
He won't use an electric wheelchair as most quadriplegics, he said, because they're big, heavy and bulky. Besides, an electric wheelchair would be a crutch he didn't need, he said, and pushing a manual wheelchair keeps his muscles in shape.
For the same reason he stays as far away as he can from mechanical devices to help him move. He also wears a felt-tipped pen through his fingers and moving his arm from the shoulder.
Although he admits that his recovery has
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HE SAID THAT HE was ready to go back to school when he was offered the Med Center job, and that he still hoped to go to college today, probably to major in psychology.
been faster than most—in only two years he's back at work—he says he wants to do better. He's thinking about becoming a therapist for people with spinal injuries, he said.
Patients with injuries like his suffer unlimited physical obstacles and bridges, he said. For instance, many patients have problems with their skin—it breaks down and pressure sores develop, sometimes leaving the wound dry. It was obvious the thought of being bed redden again was repugnant to him. He said he hadn't taken any skin problems.
Besides depression, he said, many patients develop a lack of interest in everything after their injuries. If they are married they face sexual harassment, he said, especially because they don't want to learn about sex, their biggest problem.
ONCE THE INITIAL shock is over, patients have to learn to carry the ball again by setting attainable goals, he said. He said the goals couldn't be too high, but he wanted them to be able to bring a sense of accomplishment, self respect and respect from others, he said.
He said the best advice he could offer a patient with an injury like his was, "Use what you have now and hope for more." His goal is full of hope and anticipation for the future.
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