One Day at a Time: Relying on Others Part of Paraplegic's Daily Struggle

His world has shrunken from the oil fields of West Texas and Eastern New Mexico, to the size of the two-bedroom house in which he lives.

Nearly a year after a car accident rendered 25-year-old Robert Armstrong paralyzed, he said his perspective and goals have changed greatly. Once content to do dangerous work as a roughneck in the oil business, now his main goal is to get out of his electric wheelchair — maybe even walk — one day.

Even if the bills do stack up and frustration sets in, Armstrong's face and eyes express determination as he talks about becoming mobile again.

"It's like my whole life ended," he said. "I can't do things for myself. I have to rely on everybody to help me, where I used to rely on myself. Not anymore. I'm looking toward the future. I'm determined to get out of this chair. I get frustrated sometimes."

On Dec. 28, Armstrong was involved in a car accident near Lovington, N.M. After working in the oil patch and running out of fresh water to drink, he said, he and his crew drove into town to look for a motel room.

"We were going to head to a motel room for the night," he said. "The truck flipped and I broke my neck. I was awake through the whole thing. I remember not being able to move my arms. I remember the truck flipping. I remember the helicopter ride. The last thing I remember is them putting me out for my surgery." Armstrong gets $1,300 from Social Security. In turn, that amount makes him ineligible for Medicaid. Because of bills, he said, the money is gone in 10 days. Just to remodel the house to be more handicap-friendly, his family had to spend $11,000 to remodel the bathroom.

Tammy Brown comes at about 8 a.m. each day to help get Armstrong dressed and ready for the day. As his home health provider, Brown said she's watched Armstrong come to terms with his disability.

"He gets frustrated a lot," she said. "I've seen him get depressed. I think he's doing a lot better. If he keeps up doing what he's doing, I think he'll walk again."

It took a while for Armstrong to get used to accepting Brown's help in the beginning, she said. But now, they fight like brother and sister.

"When I first came, I was getting him up and stuff, and he had to get used to me," she said. "He didn't want me to see him without clothes on. I'd come in and he'd already be dressed and ready because his mother had come over and helped him. Then, I started a couple of months after that with showers. He's the one who told me how to lift him without hurting him."

Putting Robert to bed is about the hardest thing for Yvonne Garrett, Armstrong's mother, to do.

The financial burdens of $300 for monthly prescriptions and the loan she took from the bank to remodel the house for Armstrong's wheelchair are bad enough, she said.

But, what kills her — what made her tear up as she spoke — is seeing what her son has lost. No longer can he play the guitar or violin, she said. No longer can he paint.

"It's hard to see your son of 25 years old in a wheelchair," she said, trying to retain composure. "His girlfriend of four years gave him the 'I just want to be friends' speech. He can't do the normal things a 25-year-old man can do. His mother has to do all his very private things, and it's hard for him, and it's hard for me too. He'd be out mowing the lawn or moving rocks around, or hanging out with his buddies having a good time.

JIM WATKINS * AVALANCHE JOURNAL Care giver Tammy Brown assists Robert Armstrong as he brushes his teeth.

Still, though the family has had to adjust, Armstrong's attitude is getting better. "Sometimes, I think his attitude is better than mine," she said.

Since the accident, Armstrong demonstrated how he's regained movement in his arms, and his left leg now can move a little. That's proud steps in the right direction to becoming more independent, he said.

And, though he goes three times a week to physical therapy, it's still not enough, he said. His goal is to get into a clinic where he does nothing but physical therapy all day, every day.

Spinal chord injuries are about the worst injury a person could get, said Dr. Roger Wolcott, Armstrong's doctor.

"If you have a head injury, they usually don't have insight to their deficits," he said. "If you have a spinal chord injury, you're pretty much locked in. You can't move. You can't do anything."

Spinal chord injuries 250,000 Americans have spinal chord injury, and the number grows by 11,000 new injuries a year.

• 52 percent of SCI patients are covered by private health insurance at the time of injury.

• To make a tax-deductible donation to the Robert Armstrong Trust Fund, call Lubbock National Bank at 792-1000.

About a half-century ago, people with spinal chord injuries died, he said. Advancements in medicine which help patients control their bladders and blood pressure have helped many live longer lives.

Doctors can use three different methods for treating people with spinal chord injuries. One is using medicine that prompts nerve cells to "rewire" themselves — seek out other viable nerve cells to make connections — he said.

Stem cells can be injected into a damaged area and can become new nerve cells, he said.

Also, doctors have to treat secondary trauma to the damaged area. The body's natural inflammatory response can cause more damage to already damaged nerves, he said.

Rehabilitation must start immediately, he said. If some movement isn't recaptured within six weeks, patients have about a six percent chance of gaining any movement.

Also, patients must learn how to do simple tasks over again. The bladder was one of the main causes of death in spinal chord injury patients because the nerves wouldn't tell the body when the bladder was full. Consequently, he said, renal failure would occur.

"Different nervous systems are affected," he said. "One of those controls blood pressure. Someone with a high enough injury like Robert — if he doesn't empty his bladder — he can experience a hypertensive crises. His Blood pressure could go through the roof and he'd stroke out."

Also, people like Armstrong must keep from getting bedsores, something that caused actor Christopher Reeve's death.

"Everything we take for granted, like sitting too long and feeling pain, peeing — it's all gone. I hope and pray the cure comes tomorrow. I hope they heal spontaneously tomorrow. I'd love to see a cure for diabetes and spinal chord injuries. If that came, then it would be time to party."

My soninlaw has a sister who is staying in our guest house with her quadriplegic husband. She quit her job to train as his caregiver. They arrived last night with all his chairs and hoists. He is in good spirits after over a year since his car accident. He can operate his chair, laptop and our directv and plays the stockmarket. We moved the beds downstairs and her large Maine family who has welcomed us so much will share Thanksgiving weekend with us. It makes me so grateful for what we have and don't have. The couple is in their early 40s and he did have a drywall biz. They will be moving here to build a house on remote land so he has his private road in the woods to buzz up and down. He told me all their "so called friends" don't come around anymore.

He told me all their "so called friends" don't come around anymore.

Knowing human nature as we do, this is no surprise. People don't know who their friends are until they NEED them!

And then there is the story on another thread about a 52 year old woman who lost her home in the hurricane. She is complaining about having to live in a camper and her oven will only accommodate a 13x9 inch pan. My husband is blind and cannot even watch the History Channel or any other channel. I never hear him complain except that he wishes that he could see the grand children's faces or when I am dead tired that he could drive or take of the lawn.

Very, very inspiring story. Perfect for Thanksgiving Day as a reminder to us to appreciate all that we do have, right this minute. I try to do that every day...but you know how that goes.

This young man is going to be OK. In situations like these, it's attitude that makes the difference.

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