A former junior hockey player with life-altering injuries from a bus crash four years ago is getting a boost heB次元官网网址檚 been anticipating for two years.
Ryan Straschnitzki, 22, is one of four individuals with spinal cord injuries who are in Calgary this week to have the epidural stimulators in their spines reprogrammed.
Straschnitzki was paralyzed from the chest down when a bus carrying the Humboldt Broncos of the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League was in a collision with a transport truck in 2018. Sixteen people were killed and another 13 were injured.
He had the epidural stimulator implanted in his spine in Thailand in 2019. The device, which resembles a smartphone, sends electrical currents to the spinal cord to try to stimulate nerves and move limbs.
A planned upgrade B次元官网网址� complete with mapping of the complex interaction between nerves and muscles B次元官网网址� was delayed for two years because of the global COVID-19 pandemic.
B次元官网网址淚B次元官网网址檓 just happy they finally made it. ItB次元官网网址檚 just about finding new things that work, because over time your body gets adapted to certain stimulation,B次元官网网址� Straschnitzki said in an interview with The Canadian Press on Tuesday.
B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 incredible. IB次元官网网址檝e been able to keep my body healthy and my legs healthy B次元官网网址� for the chance I do walk again,B次元官网网址� he said. B次元官网网址淚 think itB次元官网网址檚 going to be more successful (than) if I didnB次元官网网址檛 have the treatment done.B次元官网网址�
Straschnitzki, who is hoping to excel at sledge hockey, has been working with a doctor and physiotherapist from Thailand and another physiotherapist from Calgary.
B次元官网网址淪ometimes when the (stimulatorB次元官网网址檚) set to a certain level, I can feel it kind of vibrating and clenching my body so B次元官网网址� itB次元官网网址檚 overpowering, and thereB次元官网网址檚 times when I donB次元官网网址檛 feel anything at all, so itB次元官网网址檚 about finding that happy medium.B次元官网网址�
Since his return from Thailand, Straschnitzki has been able to stand on his own and take a few steps with a walker.
Dr. Richi Gill, a Calgary surgeon, broke his neck in a freak accident on a body surfboard during a family vacation in Hawaii four years ago. He said his implant has allowed him to take assisted steps and regulate his blood pressure, but itB次元官网网址檚 in need of some maintenance.
B次元官网网址淚 can tell some of the programs IB次元官网网址檝e had donB次元官网网址檛 work very well right now and need to be updated,B次元官网网址� Gill said.
He also understands the technology still has a way to go.
B次元官网网址淭he biggest limitation is just the hardware of the technology. It can only do so much, because it hasnB次元官网网址檛 been further adapted for this purpose. This is kind of like the flip-phone version.B次元官网网址�
Dr. Nasir Majeed travelled from Bangkok to oversee the remapping and was part of the medical team that installed StraschnitzkiB次元官网网址檚 original stimulator. He said the upgrade will ensure the programs continue to work well.
B次元官网网址淢aybe not mapping from scratch, but more some changes that can improve the functions in the patients,B次元官网网址� said Majeed, medical director and head of research at Verita Neuro, a global provider of advanced spinal cord injury treatments with clinics in Thailand and Mexico.
Majeed said his team will also be training members of the Synaptic Spinal Cord Injury and Neuro Rehabilitation Centre to be able to do some of the maintenance and mapping themselves.
Uyen Nguyen, founder and executive director of Synaptic, said being able to provide the service in Calgary will make things easier for the clinicB次元官网网址檚 clients.
B次元官网网址淭o know it has the potential to come to Canada and move the dial on research B次元官网网址� and ultimately improve the lives of people who are dealing with spinal cord injuries B次元官网网址� is absolutely exciting,B次元官网网址� she said.
B次元官网网址擝ill Graveland, The Canadian Press
