Facing Spinal Cord Injury

Dana Reeve said, "Spinal Cord Injury is the cruelest of all traumas." An otherwise healthy, active person is instantly thrust into a life-altering existence. Damage to the spinal cord can cause paralysis, loss of sensation and the loss of bladder, bowel and sexual function. Further, it can be accompanied by intense pain, spasticity (muscle jerking) or hypersensitivity (intense itching or burning of the skin in reaction to touch).

Throughout human history, paralysis due to central nervous system damage, which includes the brain and spinal cord, was considered permanent. However, research breakthroughs over the last two decades has changed that thinking. A cure is now inevitable. However, as with other research-based objectives, the day a cure is found is a matter of money and commitment. We, at the Morton Cure Paralysis Fund, are committed to accelerating the pace of research to make that day come as soon as possible.

The next several pages are designed to help those newly injured, their friends and their family members understand more about spinal cord injury, what it is, and how it affects people in the hope that research is providing.