Paralyzed after pool accident, student heads back to college | News … – News & Observer
By LizaAVILA
Jack Massey is ready to go back to school.
Only this time, the University of Florida senior will head back to campus with his mom and a new outlook on life.
Massey suffered a spinal cord injury in a pool accident in March and is paralyzed from the chest down. After months of rehab, he’s eager to get back into a familiar routine.
“It’s definitely boring,” the 21-year-old said at his parents’ home in Niceville. “There’s not a lot to do. I want to go back to school. I still have my brain. I still have everything I need to be successful.”
After the accident March 17, Massey was treated at the University of Florida Shands Hospital and then was transferred to Shepherd Center, a spinal cord and brain injury rehab center in Atlanta. At Shepherd Center he met with a peer mentor, counselors and physical therapists to help him find a new normal.
Jack has remained positive throughout the past six months.
“Jack has been a fighter through all of this,” said his mother, Julie. “I think he’s done well. I only saw him break down once.”
Before the accident, Jack was a well-rounded athlete who playing baseball and basketball and ran. He was a star on the track and field team at Niceville High School, with his 4 X 800 relay winning state his senior year.
He says the biggest challenge now is not being able to do the same things he could before.
“I can’t get up and go,” he said. “It didn’t really start to set in until after I got out of rehab.”
Jack has had to find enjoyment in other things, like reading or playing with the dogs. His friends have learned to transfer him from his wheelchair to a car so they can take him to the movies or out to eat. When they recently took a trip to the beach, Julie said five of Jack’s friends carried him out to the sand a lesson on how hard it is to navigate the world in a wheelchair.
Jack said he believes technology one day will advance enough that he won’t be paralyzed forever. He also volunteered to do stem cell surgery to allow doctors to study the effects of stem cells on his spine for the next 15 years. Instead of wallowing in self-pity, he’s moving forward. But he’ll need help.
“I’m appreciating everything in the now,” he said.
Doctors have said Jack has adapted faster than expected, but there are still some everyday essential tasks that are out of his reach. He cannot write or cook. He can shower himself but can’t dry himself or transfer himself in and out of his wheelchair. The Massey family hopes to secure a personal care attendant for Jack at school, but until then Julie will be in Gainesville to help him transition. An occupational therapy student from the university will also help Jack on a temporary basis.
Finding proper care for her son has proven to be a learning experience for Julie and her husband, Lance.
“I don’t know how people do it,” she said. “We have good health care, but then there’s hidden costs. There’s travel expenses. … It’s kind of humbling. Nobody should have to go to GoFundMe for medical help.”
Jack wants to spend his final year as an undergrad as independent as possible. After months of helping him recover, Julie said it will be hard to let her son go. Jack is the oldest of three; his brother Lance is 19 and a student at UF and his sister Alina is 14 and attends Ruckel Middle School.
“It’s like letting him go off to kindergarten again,” she said.
As for life after college, Jack said he doesn’t feel limited in career choices. One of his professors in the geology department encouraged him by saying that there were plenty of opportunities he could pursue in that field. Jack said he may also consider law school. One thing he’s learned through this life-altering experience is that there are no limits to what he can achieve.
“I haven’t done that much deep thinking. I just go with the flow,” he said. “But I learned I have more perseverance. I’m more mentally tough than I thought I was. I’m appreciative for life in general. That’s one of the big things.”
Visit link:
Paralyzed after pool accident, student heads back to college | News … – News & Observer
- Stem Cell Treatments - Brain and Spinal Cord - April 15th, 2018
- Syrinx of the Spinal Cord or Brain Stem - Neurologic Disorders - Merck Manuals ... - April 12th, 2018
- Spinal Chord Injury Stem Cell Therapy | NSI Stem Cell - April 7th, 2018
- Stem Cells & Spinal Cord Injuries - sci-info-pages.com - March 21st, 2018
- Paraplegic breakthrough using adult stem cells - WND - March 4th, 2018
- Adult Stem Cell Success Story | Spinal Cord Injury | SCRF - March 1st, 2018
- Spinal cord compression - Canadian Cancer Society - February 13th, 2018
- Levels of Spinal Cord Injury - Brain and Spinal Cord - February 12th, 2018
- Stories of Hope: Spinal Cord Injury | California's Stem ... - February 7th, 2018
- Engineered Stem Cells repaired spinal cords in 5 out of 12 ... - January 14th, 2018
- Spinal cord injury - Symptoms and causes - Mayo Clinic - December 21st, 2017
- What are stem cells and how will they be used to treat the ... - November 25th, 2017
- Spinal Cord Injury Treatment with Stem Cells - Stem Cells ... - October 3rd, 2017
- Quadriplegia | Types of Paralysis | Brain and Spinal Cord ... - September 22nd, 2017
- Stem Cell of America - Breakthrough Stem Cell Treatments ... - September 20th, 2017
- The $100 Million Plan to End Paralysis - Outside Magazine - September 7th, 2017
- Repairing the Nervous System with Stem Cells | stemcells ... - September 5th, 2017
- Americord Offers New Option for Banking Placental Tissue - Business Wire (press release) - September 5th, 2017
- Using donor stem cells to treat spinal cord injury - September 3rd, 2017
- Ryan Custer, Elder grad injured at Oxford party, thanks community for their support - WCPO - September 3rd, 2017
- Stem Cells and "Mishandling" Smallpox - Liberty Nation - Liberty Nation (registration) (blog) - September 3rd, 2017
- Somatic SNAFUCan a Few Mutant Microglia Cause Neurodegenerative Disease? - Alzforum - September 3rd, 2017
- A year ago he was paralysed from the neck down then this happened - The Daily Reckoning - September 1st, 2017
- Stem Cell Graft Repairs Spinal Cord Injury, Helps Paralyzed Mice ... - Medical Daily - August 31st, 2017
- Brain cell replacement for Parkinson's boosted by monkey study - The San Diego Union-Tribune - August 31st, 2017
- FDA cracks down on bogus cell therapy firms - pharmaphorum - August 30th, 2017
- Human Stem Cells Repair Spinal Cord Injuries In Mice At Human Biological Rate - IFLScience - August 30th, 2017
- Health Highlights: Aug. 29, 2017 - Bloomington Pantagraph - August 30th, 2017
- FDA cracks down on clinics selling unapproved stem cell therapies - CBS News - August 29th, 2017
- Immune cells may prevent stem cell growth in spinal cord repair - Cosmos - August 28th, 2017
- Year after Jerika Bolen's death, debate continues on right-to-die issues - USA TODAY - August 28th, 2017
- Paralyzed after pool accident, student heads back to college - San Francisco Chronicle - August 27th, 2017
- 8 things for spine surgeons to know for Thursday Aug. 24, 2017 - Becker's Orthopedic & Spine - August 25th, 2017
- Stem Cell Treatment for Spinal Cord Injury - Beike ... - August 25th, 2017
- Paralyzed after pool accident, student heads back to college - The Herald - August 25th, 2017
- Stem cell therapy: proffering hope for special needs patients ... - BusinessDay (satire) (press release) (registration) (blog) - August 25th, 2017
- The Possible Ways To Bring Brain-Dead Patients Back To Life - Medical Daily - August 25th, 2017
- A Year Ago He Was Paralyzed From the Neck Down Then This Happened - Daily Reckoning - August 25th, 2017
- Washington University School of Medicine new spinal cord injury clinical trial site: 7 takeaways - Becker's Orthopedic & Spine - August 24th, 2017
- Bio-inspired Materials Give Boost to Regenerative Medicine - Bioscience Technology - August 22nd, 2017
- Disabled former police officer raising money for operation in Thailand - The Daily Courier - August 19th, 2017
- Bio-inspired materials give boost to regenerative medicine - Medical Xpress - August 19th, 2017
- Brain Spheroids Hatch Mature Astrocytes - Alzforum - August 19th, 2017
- Woman Will Use Stem Cells From Her Baby's Umbilical Cord To Save Her Brother, Who Has a Brain Tumor - LifeNews.com - August 19th, 2017
- 'I still have my brain' - The Northwest Florida Daily News - August 16th, 2017
- Restoring loss: Bio-inspired materials give boost to regenerative medicine - Arizona State University - August 15th, 2017
- Does recovery occur after spinal cord injury? | Answers ... - August 14th, 2017
- Asterias Announces Major AST-VAC2 Development Milestone: First ... - GlobeNewswire (press release) - August 14th, 2017
- Which research results in mice will help humans with MS? Now there's a way to tell - UB News Center - August 14th, 2017
- Technion prof inspires Aussie researchers - Australian Jewish News - August 13th, 2017
- Northern Ireland mum fighting MS: Russian medics are now my last hope - Belfast Telegraph - August 12th, 2017
- The power of hope - Richmond-News - August 12th, 2017
- Umbilical Cord Stem Cells - Current Uses & Future Challenges - August 11th, 2017
- Attention Knitters: Oklahoma Needs 5000 Baby Hats - Mental Floss - August 11th, 2017
- Former Quadriplegic Enrolled in Asterias' SCiStar Study to Throw Ceremonial First Pitch at Major League Baseball Game - OrthoSpineNews - August 11th, 2017
- New technology manipulates cells for disease research - Digital Journal - August 8th, 2017
- Syrinx of the Spinal Cord or Brain Stem - Neurologic ... - August 7th, 2017
- Sam Shepard and Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis - Villages-News - August 7th, 2017
- Asterias Biotherapeutics Opens Two Additional Clinical Sites for ... - GlobeNewswire (press release) - August 4th, 2017
- Third Trial Death Endangers Invivo - Seeking Alpha - August 2nd, 2017
- A bold vision - UMN News - August 2nd, 2017
- The breakdown of this brain region may accelerate aging - Science Magazine - July 31st, 2017
- Off-the-Radar Biotechs About to Break Out - Daily Reckoning - July 31st, 2017
- Stem Cells Market Analysis By Product (Adult Stem Cells, hESC ... - PR Newswire (press release) - July 13th, 2017
- Cell therapy may be key to treating Alzheimer's & Parkinson's - Economic Times - July 13th, 2017
- Asterias Biotherapeutics Receives FDA Clearance to Enroll C-4 Patients in SCiStar Study - PR Newswire (press release) - July 11th, 2017
- Private clinics are peddling untested stem cell treatments it's unethical and dangerous - Yahoo News UK - July 9th, 2017
- Stem Cell Therapy: You can be sexually active again - Vanguard ... - Vanguard - July 9th, 2017
- Embryonic stem cells to be available for medical use in Japan by next March - The Japan Times - July 5th, 2017
- Dog owners flock IVRI for pets' cure | Bareilly News - Times of India - Times of India - July 4th, 2017
- Canadian clinics begin offering stem-cell treatments experts call unproven, possibly unsafe - National Post - July 4th, 2017
- Stem cell-based therapies to treat spinal cord injury: a review - Dove Medical Press - July 4th, 2017
- Spinal Cord Nerve Cells Positional Decoding In Development - ReliaWire - July 2nd, 2017
- GEN Roundup: Top Trends in Tissue Engineering - Genetic Engineering & Biotechnology News - July 1st, 2017
- Wheelchair-bound Langley man raising funds for stem cell therapy in Central America - Surrey Now-Leader - July 1st, 2017
- Scientists find mechanism behind precise spinal cord development - Medical Xpress - June 30th, 2017
- Growth Hormone and Rehabilitation Promoted Distal Innervation in a Child Affected by Caudal Regression Syndrome ... - UroToday - June 28th, 2017
- Human head transplant: Chinese researchers claim success with rats - Alphr - June 22nd, 2017
- He broke ground in stem-cell research. Now he's running for Congress. - Washington Post - June 21st, 2017
- Spinal cord | Define Spinal cord at Dictionary.com - June 19th, 2017
