Secret Smile..

Remember Christopher Reeve? he played ‘Superman’ back during those days. he fell from a horse and broke his spine. he ended up in a wheelchair, paralysed from neck and below. well, he started this Re:connections thing. his effort inspired the world to make this world a better place for paralysed people, and someday, to cure paralysis.

it is a blessing that i got a place in this forum, out of only 300 places

Re:Connections is about current state of reseach and support for Spinal Cord Individual. as you might realize by now, im working with paralysed people, who suffer spinal cord injury, mostly from the abdomen or legs down. they can still use thair hands to push the wheelchair for mobility. the research im doing is about developing an exercise machine for paraplegics - thats what you call people with paralysed legs - . maybe u would like to know that research has found evidence that paralysis can be cured someday. reseraches found that there is a possibility to regenerate stem cells, to rebuild the nervous cell. currently, the nervous cell cannot regenerate, and that’s why paralysed people will stay paralysed - because their nervous system cannot build themselves like our muscle tissue or bone tissue can.

during the whole day in Darling Harbour, we spent our day in sessions by the Ministry of Health and Medical Research of NSW. Big and very succesful people and researchers, including Spinal Cord Injured patients themselves, presented their work and support. participants were from all walks of life, incuding a little student like me ! most amazingly, people who are paralysed from the neck and below, unable to even move their hands are also there. they mobilize on highly equipped wheelchairs, supporting their neck for commands and controls. Its just amazing how spirited and participative they are.

I wish Malaysia would provide the same care and cure, or at least sufficient support for these people. its just another unfortunate disease, just like heart problem, kidney failure and cancer. but these diseases are extensively researched into, and supported, but not the spinal cord injury. nobody wants to get injured and have disease, and they cant even choose their disease, can they? its just not fair to be treated as a second class citizen in Malaysia if you suffer from paralysis.

paralysed people here drive their own cars, - one of my patients drive a good 4-wheel drive! they can easily access all the transportation and other facilities. They do not feel outsiders at all  - (at least, that’s what I think) - coz I can see they live a healthy and wonderful life. they have good jobs. one of my patients found his wife when he’s in a wheelchair, when he’s joining a wheelchair sports competition. how amazing is that! it just tells you that their life is well treated. i just wish our country will achieve that standard someday soon.

okay, enough about what I feel. please make du’a for me that I will be able to change the world for the better, insyaAllah. thats what im studying for right now. i must say its a very demanding situation i am in, for an engineering student being in life sciences field, but im enjoying it. lets all hope for the better..

This entry was posted on Friday, June 2nd, 2006 at 1:38 am and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.