One of the jobs I've done in my life is to work as a caregiver for a quadriplegic. This man had been shot in the neck and spent 3 months in a major trauma center before I started to work for him. I was his caregiver for 2 years until my full time job (working as a Certified Nursing Assistant and EKG Tech at a local hospital) started to conflict with my job as his caregiver.
But I was thinking about this today when I read that researchers have discovered how to make paralyzed lab rats walk with chemical and electrical stimulation. The person I worked as a caregiver for was always very interested in any news of research or potential medical breakthroughs in the field of paralysis, although he was not very optimistic that he would ever benefit from it. As it turned out he was right, since he passed away a couple of years after I stopped working as his caregiver.
I've seen a lot of misery in the 9 years I worked in health care. I've gotten to know a lot of people who were terminally ill, some of whom passed away on my watch. I've worked with people who were in severe pain - both mental and physical. And I've worked with hundreds of people with Alzheimer disease.
But probably one of the saddest people I have ever worked with was this man who was paralyzed from the waste down. I remember him begging a family member to kill him because he couldn't bear living any longer. I've heard similar things while working in the hospital and long term care settings, but usually from people who were in there 70s and 80s, not from someone who was in the prime of his life.
I wish the researchers the best of luck (although I don't believe in luck!) with getting paralyzed rats to walk again. And I sincerely hope that this research translates into useful medical knowledge that can improve the lives of paralyzed people such as the one I worked for. But life is so short - and eternity is so long.
Jesus says, "For what is a man profited if he shall gain the whole world and lose his soul? Or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?" Matthew 16:26
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