As an occupational therapist working with spinal cord injured clients,
I thought I'd take this opportunity to clarify a few issues that have
been brought up regarding Travis Roy.
 
1.  His vertebrae are crushed.  That does not necessarily mean that the
cord itself is injured.  It is highly likely that it is swollen, with
a distinct possibility of some damage.  For example, former Gopher
star Scott Bell played a whole season with a cracked vertebra and
experienced a lot of pain, but there was no spinal cord injury.  The
fact that Roy's vertebrae were crushed, not cracked makes it more serious,
but does not necessarily mean that there is a severance of the cord.
 
2.  At the C4 level, if (and only IF) there is spinal cord damage, the
following could be expected: independent breathing, shoulder elevation,
scapular (shoulder blade) adduction and depression, and full neck movements.
He WOULD have independent breathing.  Had the injury been C3 or above,
there would most likely have been some respiration problems (i.e. Christopher
Reeve)
 
3.  Spinal cord injuries are not cut and dried.  Sometimes one side may
be more affected than the other, meaning more sensation and movement.
 
But please, keep in mind that as of now we don't know the condition of
his spinal cord.  We know there is vertebral damage, which doesn't
always mean spinal cord damage.
 
I wish Travis the best of luck,
 
Katie
 
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