Merry Christmas and Happy New Year

I'm going to probably take the rest of the year off on blogging, but I'll still be tweeting.  My tweets aren't subject specific all the time, so it's a little more "well-rounded."

If interested, follow me on twitter. My handle is wordsmithsteve.

Happy Holidays everybody and a Happy New Year.

Article that summarizes Spinal Cord Injury levels and classifications

Spinal cord injury is a complicated subject.  They can be complete or incomplete, occur at different levels of the spinal cord, and classifications can change as recovery takes place.

I found a great article in the sci-info-pages website.

Spinal Cord Injury Levels and Classifications is a great summary on this issue.

Another short interview with me about my book

This is a little old, but here is a short interview I did about  the book with a book blog.

Bent Over Words

Bowel Bladder and Sexual Function podcast transcript from Transverse Myelitis Association

Finally, here is a transcript from a podcast from the Transverse Myelitis Association on bladder, bowel and sexual function in SCI patients.

I am a member of TMA (online, though. I've never physically attended any of their events, though one day in the future, I'd like to).

TMA podcast transcript

Proper way to poop

Continuing with the digestion theme, I found a post yesterday that dealt with the proper way to evacuate.

One of the issues spinal cord injury patients deal with is that of evacuation.  Many of us need to use suppositories and stool softeners to enable us to do this function.  Others need to digital stimulation and do abdominal massages and rocking.  And there are those who need to do both.

But some of us can get away from limiting the amount of the above strategies.  I have not taken any suppositories or stool softeners since being discharged from the hospital. I rock back and forth sometimes, and digital stim even less and do abdominal massages even less.

I write about increased fiber consumption a lot.  To a lesser extent, I write about exercise and moving around.

Well, even before my SCI, I used to wonder why sitting in the handicap stall in public restrooms would be more difficult for me.  And now, many times, I will lift my legs up high while sitting, and it will sort of resemble a crouch.  After reading the post below, now I know why.

 Proper way to poop

How @DelTaco and Chinese Take Out Helped Me Recover from Spinal Cord Injury pt 2.

Part 1 covered how the bean burrito from Del Taco helped me with my bowel recovery.

This part will cover how a local Chinese Take Out restaurant, Wa Wa helped me recover.

Even before I suffered my spinal cord injury, I was a regular customer at Wa Wa. Hands down, it makes my top 5 Chinese food to eat in Long Beach, CA - not just price factored in, but also quality of the food.  I'd stop in after work, or on my way home from the library, or the matinee on weekends.  I think their made to order items are better than many sit down places.  But enough of how much I like the food here - for that, you can read my reviews on Yelp.

Anyway, once the hospital approved me to eat regular food, I asked one of my friends to bring me their Wor Won Ton Soup.  And if it wasn't my favorite soup at that time, it is now.  After a month of being fed intravenously, or pureed foods, that soup hit the spot.

At this time, my bowels weren't working at all, so having this soup served two purposes: 1. It was like having my neighborhood brought to me at my hospital room, and I felt connected to my neighborhood. That was important because I'd end up spending 52 days in the hospital.  2. It tasted really good.

Their Wor Won Ton is full of vegetables, and I know it is fresh because once, before I got sick, I was passing by the place early in the morning and I saw them getting their vegetables delivered.  And vegetables are among the most nutritious foods to consume, and contains a lot of fiber. So, needless to say, in addition to how much I like the taste of this soup, this soup helped with my nutritional and digestive needs.

But Wa Wa helped me most was my walking recovery. When I first moved back into my own place, I made it a goal to be able to walk there. It is located about 10 blocks from where I live.  At first, I could only walk about half that distance, but I worked and worked until one day, I was able to pop in there.  Of course, as a reward to myself I had lunch there.  Fast forward two years later, and now, not only do I walk in there as if I hadn't suffered an injury to my spinal cord, but can also order to-go take out and carry the meal home.

During this entire ordeal, they have been really supportive throughout my recovery, which I appreciate a lot, so they've been  a part of my recovery on several levels.

Here is the link to Part 1

Check out Toe Up to 10K on Amazon.

How @DelTaco and Chinese Take Out Helped Me Recover from Spinal Cord injury - Pt 1

When people talk about healthy eating, they usually don't mean fast food.  However, the fast food chain, Del Taco, and a local Chinese take out place called Wa Wa Restaurant both played a role in my recovery from spinal cord injury.

When the spinal cord is damaged, it is not just the legs and arms that are affected. Several body functions also break down, such as temperature regulation, memory, and bowel and bladder functions (and many more areas).

First Del Taco - the 1/2 pound bean and cheese burrito from Del Taco helped me with my bowel recovery.

After being discharged from the hospital, I returned once a week to the hospital for physical and occupational therapy.  On the way home, we would order a Fiesta Pack at a local Del taco. A Fiesta Pack consists of 6 regular beef tacos and 6 1/2 pound bean and cheese burritos

To backtrack a bit, in the first five months of my recovery from spinal cord injury, I had to do a bowel program called digital stimulation - this entailed someone other than me (until I regained enough mobility to do this myself), to pull out stool manually.  Sometimes, if all the stool hadn't been removed, I'd have an accident some hours later, but I wouldn't know until the stool was already coming out.

The first time I ate the bean burrito (and a taco), within the hour, I had a feeling of having to go to the bathroom.  What came out was  a normal shaped stool, and came out naturally, on its own, without straining or without manual assistance.

The following week and the week after, the same thing, although not always within the hour, sometimes later that evening, or the next day.  Usually, there was enough leftovers for me to have a second serving, so many times, I'd end up having two or three natural evacuations (in the morning, I'd still have to be checked to see if any stool was left to come out). But, having a natural evacuation in the morning was extra special because I wouldn't have to go through digital stimulation.

I'm sure it was the fiber content from the beans that was the catalyst.  It made me realize the importance of adding fiber to my diet. Under the bowel program, the stool was being removed manually, but the burritos help me achieve a natural evacuation, and I think it made my muscles stronger since they had to push out the stool, and also re-trained my nerve-muscle communication to let me know when stool was ready to come out.

This may seem like TMI, but spinal cord injury affects several areas of the body, and all need to be addressed.    I'm convinced that having these natural evacuations before I fully regained this function helped me recover faster.  The bean burrito from Del Taco was the start of this realization between fiber and bowel recovery, and for that, Del taco has a soft spot in my heart (and I also really like the taste of their bean burritos (ask for green chili)).

Pt 2 will cover how Wa Wa Restaurant helped me recover in areas other than digestion.

Check Out Toe Up to 10K on Amazon