"You may not control all the events that happen to you, but you can decide not to be reduced by them..." -- Maya Angelou
OVERCOMING ADVERSITY
Written by: "PT JOSH" Schueller | Edited by: Roberta Kline, MD
As a physical therapist, an initial sense of despondency or loss of emotional will is not uncommon with sufferers of major injuries. Some may devolve into an existential downturn which affects the ambition to stand, walk or reach for more out of life. It is human nature for people to face additional challenges in staying motivated and inspired during times of adversity. Those who succumb to the loss of physical abilities may find it easier to stay behind closed doors and detach themselves from interaction to the world at large.
Meanwhile, finding that pivotal inspiration to regenerate from that depletion of hope (perhaps by a social cause, a person or an event) can be the game-changing spark for sufferers of any handicap. Empowering people in their daily lives can steer the very direction of anyone's success. Whether you're a father, a physical therapist, or an advocate for spinal cord injury, being able to show people that they can overcome their challenges and adversity in their daily lives, (whether it's pain or disabilities) is a worthwhile achievement.
We may identify competition as "US against THEM", but a more sustainable and prominent form of competition is the internal one that drives us all. To self-motivate is to raise your life to that next level. Impacting your internal drive enables you to aspire for external competition, such that participating in competition at Jesi Stracham's level is this form of personal expansion.
Jesi's inspirational website and her social media channels help captivate and support a growing number of followers for her presence and her drive to go beyond disabilities and to capture that internal power of self-ownership. She harnesses it to compete for the sake of achieving great results- forging her public message into a crusade to support anyone affected by physical challenge. As a motivational speaker, Jesi exudes wisdom beyond her years, harnessing self-empowerment and insight that translates to a healthy lifestyle for anyone.
MEDICAL HOPE FROM A SECOND OPINION
When Jesi was originally diagnosed with a spinal cord injury, she received an Asia-A grade. This means complete motor and sensory loss. Over time, Jesi recovered and rehabbed from her injury and began to acquire sensation below her level of injury. She started to move her legs in her hip flexors. She could feel touch below her knee, and she began to get some return in her pelvic floor function. All of this would not be possible with a classification of an Asia-A.
The majority of spinal cord injuries are a contusion to the spinal cord that causes damage at the time of injury. But the final chapter is not written on recovery whether 1 month, 1 year or 7 years after your injury. In Jesi's case, her recovery drove her to push for living independently, and reach for a higher set of goals for herself. The scans that Jesi undertook at Dr. Bard's office in NYC added to this hope as they showed that her nerves actually have life to them. This became an added sign of HOPE that they can continue to recover from this injury.
Nobody knows how much damage is truly done to that spinal cord. But as with Jesi (and other powerhouses like her), if you are driven to explore and push to find more answers, fueling HOPE with empowered vision can uncover solutions to even the toughest disorders.
"Jesi Wheels to Manhattan":
Biometric Case Study with Advanced Ultrasound Scans (feat. Dr. Robert Bard)
JESI STRAHAM is a trauma survivor on a mission to help individuals see the opportunity in their obstacles. In January of 2015, Jesi was the passenger on a motorcycle when it collided with a car. She woke up a week later in an intensive care unit without the use of her legs secondary to a spinal cord injury. Instead of accepting disability as her reality, Jesi's spirit to overcome her struggles made her one of the country's top advocates for wellness, empowerment and improved lifestyle for all traumatic injury victims and wheelchair-bound individuals. She shares new resources and health solutions as the director of Wheel With Me Foundation.
TRANSCRIPT (By Jesi)
We are here in New York City at Dr. Bard's office where I just had the most intense diagnosis I've ever had in my entire life. He scanned everything from my legs, my hips, shoulders, bladder, pelvic floor, spine, spinal cord. We saw it all today and I'm excited to be in good health and to see how my body will improve. The thing I really enjoyed about ultrasound was how in-depth you could see different parts of the body's organs, whereas an x-ray is just a 2D still image. The ultrasound allows you to see all the way around. So for example, he could see the damage on my hip from when I was a kid and I dislocated it.
We started with my knee and went up my leg to my hip, where I had some idea of why I have so much hip pain. I have an old fracture in my hip that I didn't realize I had. I thought I had just dislocated it as a kid, turns out there's there was an old field fracture there. And so that could be the reason that I'm having nerve pain there. I also got to see my spine through my stomach. I saw my bladder and my abdomen. We looked at my shoulder and seen my shoulder health. So it was really cool to see that the deeper part of my shoulder to see the muscles, to see if they're worn down, if they need to be built up, if I need to do PT. And it's remarkable to get a more in depth description about what's going on with your body as an individual with a spinal cord injury; I often get spasms and they are typically below my level of injury, which is T4.
Now I'm worrying about when is my bladder going to spasm? How much fluid intake I need to have? When and where is there a bathroom that's accessible? So I can cath myself. My bladder is my biggest struggle within my spinal cord injury. Every six months, I get Botox injections in my bladder to help reduce the spasticity. And I take two bladder spasm medicines a day to help prevent spasticity and decrease that I'm very, very excited to be connected with Elitone (a kegel product) and to start this case study within myself, to see if it improves incontinence. And if so, we can help so many women with neurogenic ladder to help them improve their incontinence as well, and, and overall improve their quality of life.
Multi-Modality Research: ONDAMED® Biofeedback/PEMF & the Doppler Ultrasound
The innovation in review is the ONDAMED®- a full-body biofeedback device + PEMF therapeutic solution designed to target the root causes of physiological imbalances such as pain, injuries, inflammation and neurological disorders. According to Dr. Binder, this energy therapeutic device has a major global following, recognized in areas including sports medicine, pain management, psychiatry, anti-aging and neurology. This diagnostic imaging project which started in July 8 was designed to confirm the vast number of testimonials about its advantages including (but not limited to) pain & stress reduction, optimizing mental and emotional wellness and balancing hormones and metabolism. This research also hopes to challenge or confirm its ability to support detoxification, enhance cellular nutrient absorption, inflammation reduction, fighting off infections, cellular repair/regeneration, improve the immune function and hemodynamics / circulation. (go to full feature)
THE 2022 POST-MILITARY CRUSADERS COALITION
2/11/2022- A 2022 initiative by community leaders launched the PMCC or Post Military Crusaders Coalition to launch an action plan for health resources for injured American veterans. Similar to the First Responders Cancer Resource project, this campaign supports all veteran advocates and service members support organizations by offering educational initiatives, alternative therapeutic modalities, sustainable diagnostic technologies and clinical research programs.
JESI STRACHAM (NC) is an adaptive athlete, public figure, and advocate for the wheelchair community. Since 2015, she has made it her life’s mission to touch as many hearts as possible, inspiring others to live their lives to the absolute fullest - despite their obstacles. Jesi has tried her hand at multiple adaptive sports, but found an outlet for her competitive drive alongside the abled-bodied, participating in the Tough Mudder series. In 2017, she received her “Holy Grail” which involves competing in the demanding, 24-hour World’s Toughest Mudder. Using a team of support runners, she has shown the world that when just a few people come together, anything is possible.
"GETTING MY LIFE BACK FROM CHRONIC FATIGUE SYNDROME" 2/15/2022- Mrs. Suzanne Wheeler of Minneapolis, Minnesota is celebrated as IPHA NEWS' Researcher of the Month. After years of suffering a life-altering disorder that currently continues to challenge the scientific community of its root causes, Mrs. Wheeler explored “outside the conventional box” of opioid prescriptions, uncovering alternative solutions that got her back on her feet and joining life again. Invoking CHANGE against all odds by diligently searching for what’s beyond the convenient takes courage and conviction. It is this level of academic strength and strategic leadership that comprises the Alternative Health and Wellness community. (see full feature on Mrs. Wheeler's PEMF review)
2022 ROUND TABLE POWERMEET: THE NATIONAL WOMEN'S DIAGNOSTIC NETWORK: April 27, 2022 marks the official launch of the National Women's Diagnostic Network co-produced by the Integrative Pain Healers' Alliance, the AngioFoundation and the NY Cancer Resource Group. Thanks to the collaboration of the co-hosts Dr. Noelle Cutter and Dr. Roberta Kline, the virtual event otherwise known as the Round Table emPOWERMEET / Leadership Conference 2022 united NINE remarkable educators in support of women's health issues. Each speaker shared their own visions, viewpoints and work experiences. They explored the field of care-giving and offered their personal inspirations that added individual energies to this public event. (see complete article on our first Women's emPOWERMEET.)
2/11/2022- MOMMIES ON A MISSION: The Angiofoundation and Integrative Pain Healers Alliance (comprised of physicians, researchers and public educators) and the For Elysa Foundation, a non-profit advocacy group supporting pediatric myocarditis research- united in their first multi-org summit to test drive a coalition concept to unite all advocacy groups for "a common and louder voice for change!" The "spark" of the coalition originally came from two “Doctor Moms”- Dr. Noelle Cutter and Dr. Roberta Kline as part of a research assignment on genomic science and Long Haul (post Covid infection) disorders. Published reports of myocarditis since the early 1900’s about a “sudden heart failure” showed new headlines during the pandemic, drawing a spotlight on the rare viral-driven cardiac disease. Their search led to the For Elysa Foundation, a foundation dedicated to Elysa Rojas (2) who passed away from Viral Myocarditis in January, 2013.
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