Ageing – it’s a fact of life. Curtis Palmer is a little worried about getting older with
a spinal cord injury.
Sholto, Grant, Tiffiney and Gabrielle have each been in a wheelchair for more than 18
years. Like me they were young and sporty when they broke their spines, they’ve simply
got on with life but now the years are catching up. This is my 18th year in a chair and I’m
starting to freak out about what my next 20 years will be like. Just 60 years ago people
with my level of spinal injury only lived a few weeks beyond their accident, many people
died of something as basic as a urinary tract infection. Now they’ve pushed out life expectancy
thanks to new technologies and new medicines.
For me life after a spinal injury hasn’t been too bad, all this considered I’ve been
pretty lucky – I work out, I lead an active lifestyle, I’ve got a great job but I still
have to be careful.
If I don’t take care of myself I could end up with all sorts of medical and personal
issues but what freaks me out the most is losing my independence.
Can I go now?
Ahhhh I don’t know how she got here. Ok I’m going to need some help!
Grant Aitken broke his neck 22 years ago; he’s what you class as a veteran. There’s
no question the ageing process is now taking its toll, Grant used to push himself around
in a wheelchair, a loss of general strength means he now relies heavily on his partner
Harriet. It’s a fact that a spinal cord injury combined with normal ageing means the
body wears out faster.
Probably 10 years ago I never would have seen myself like this, I probably can’t last
as long up in a chair as long as I did back in the day, I used to go to bed at 11 or 12pm
feeling relatively fresh but these days I probably don’t last as long with age and
weariness. The whole process of getting up doing a day and then going to bed is still
fairly substantial.
And then there’s the plumbing, even 20 years ago kidney failure was the big risk for people
with spinal cord injury. Urinary tract infections can do big damage but Grant has found a solution
to that.
I had a Supra Pubic catheter put in so that gets changed monthly and you make sure you
keep drinking fluids and every now and then you get an infection which knocks you around
but so long as you’re smart and careful…
The good news is the progress we’ve seen, take Zita (the mobility dog), these dogs weren’t
around 20 years ago.
Curtis: Hi mate
Grant: Curtis/Zita
Curtis: Hey Zita.
Grant’s partner Harry has been his main caregiver for 20 years, in that time Grant’s
gone from being mostly independent to increasingly dependent on her support.
We met 20 odd years ago I guess, we’ve been together all that time so she’s a special
woman, if something happened to her I’d be in dire straights not only physically but
emotionally, we’re a pretty good team and have got a pretty good understanding. I try
and do as much as I can but the reality sets in and you’ve got to think well am I going
to sit here or not and accept these things or rely on the help, that’s probably one
of the toughest things you need to come to term with I guess.
Fortunately for Grant ACC recognized that ageing would impact on his physical mobility
and funded a new van. Grant can no longer transfer in and out of the regular car but
a flick of the ramp and up she goes into the drivers seat – independence is retained.
I think probably back when I had my accident I may not have expected to last 30 years with
what I knew back then, I knew very little but I certainly didn’t look 30 years ahead
but now I’m looking another 30 years ahead because the last 30 have been so good really.
You’ve got to be sensible; you’ve got to be smart and certainly try things but don’t
push yourself to limits that you can’t handle. It was a big decision really to go from a
manual chair to the power chair, I’ve been 30 years in the manual but yeah it’s been
a change but I think one for the better. There’s lots of things you can’t do but I tend to
focus on what you can do and don’t hold back really.
Everyone’s skin gets thinner as they age. For a person with a spinal injury this is
critical particularly as the surfaces of every part of your body is constantly rubbing as
you transfer from zone to zone, bed to shower, shower to chair or even chair to car.
Think of a scratch say on my butt, if I choose to ignore it well the chances are it could
turn into a pressure sore and that means weeks of painful bed rest – that’s the most
demoralizing experience in the world and it recently happened to my mate Sholto.
Sholto’s been in a wheelchair for 18 years (the same as me). We both played wheelchair
rugby at a high level and endured intense training sessions and generally thought we
were invincible.
Six weeks ago I was transferring into the shower chair and it all went a little bit
wrong and I came down heavy and it was only a really small cut right on my backside bone
and it was a really minor cut, the doctor had a look at it and said “as long as you
keep it clean you can go about your business”.
Healing happens slower in a chair, the skin gets thinner and fat layers are lost. The
human body is designed to move and Sholto has stayed as active as possible and that’s
made a big difference however as the years go by pressure sores become more of a risk.
Well it got infected I imagine sort of five weeks down the track and when I finally went
on bed rest and by then the area had increased dramatically, I had a staph infection in there
so when I did go on bed rest it was looking really bad and I was like “oh no you idiot
what have you done?” I’ve seen pressure areas and bed areas and trauma areas and know
that they take at least months to heal, if I’d taken maybe two or three days out of
my training regime I probably would have healed it up but at that stage my training regime
was a really high priority to me and I was feeling really good about it and I had goals
and was focusing on the bigger picture and sort of two days out of training just seemed
like too bigger obstacle, you really need to be vigilant and when you get those little
things like that you really need to take care of them straight away.
I’ve been in bed for two weeks now; I’m going a little bit stir crazy so I’m really
paying the price for not being vigilant. When I got up and was doing my rehab and mobilizing
and there were a couple of guys that came back to the spinal unit for various reasons
and I was speaking to one of them and said “how long have you been in a chair” and
he said “12 years” and I was like “12 years! Wow that is a long time” and now
I look back and time has gone by so quickly and like I said 18 years down the track and
I’m now looking at people that have been in chairs for 30 plus and I’m seeing no
reason why I’m not going to be in a wheelchair at retirement age.
Yep Sholto’s given me plenty to think about.
Oh man Pilates, yoga, massage – it all sounds a bit airy-fairy to me but at this stage I’m
willing to do anything it takes to make sure I stay healthy. I’m starting to think that
wheelchair rugby is doing me more harm than good; maybe I need to try something a little
less stressful.
Tiffiney is 41, she broke her spine water skiing 18 years ago but she maintained her
fitness and has represented New Zealand as a tennis player and now as a hand cyclist,
she’s convinced that’s the key to a long and healthy life.
Well I’m a firm believer in sport whether you’re in a chair or not for your health
so I think for flexibility and every day stuff you’re always going to get in and out of
cars, getting on and off beds if you don’t have good strong upper body life’s going
to be tricky.
So I guess the one thing that I’ve noticed especially after my shoulder operation is
the range of movement in this arm, especially the shoulder, it’s taking a long time to
get back aye.
I’ve just pretty much always been into sports really, I think it’s pretty important for
your mental and physical wellbeing, like I had my accident playing sport but I probably
had about five years off while I got married and had a baby and it didn’t take me long
to get back into it actually.
Although Tiffiney is a total sports junkie she also has to worry about the effects of
ageing – scoliosis or curvature of the spine is another factor and it affects half of adults
in a chair.
Scoliosis gives me a little bit of a worry, I’ve got one shoulder that my spine sort
of curves around that way and I predominantly favour my right side and it’s so built up
now so that was a slight worry when I first got in a chair someone said “oh you’ve
got to do this and that otherwise you’ll be wheeling down the road with a hunch back”
but so far so good.
Partner Chris is also in a wheelchair; he’s Mr Fix It.
Keeps me fit and healthy, people comment that I look fit and healthy so it’s what I do
and it’s what I know. I’m fortunate enough that I’ve represented New Zealand for tennis
and hand cycling so I suppose I consider it a bit more of a job at times.
According to everyone that did my transfers in Canada I don’t wait for three, I go on
2 1/2.
Working out sure builds your upper body strength but I worry – is it enough?
What more can we do? Go along to a Chinese herbalist…I hear they’re great…I think
you worry too much Curt. Laughs
Hommmmmmmmmmm hommmmmmmmmm
Some say that by keeping a positive frame of mind your live will generally be … well
positive, I know very deep isn’t it but can the power of the mind really affect how
your life will turn out?
Gabrielle has well and truly defied the odds, she’s had 39 years in a wheelchair post
accident – remember 30 years ago the expert view was people could expect to live just
15 years post injury. She’s had virtually no health issues and reckons teaching has
given her a full life.
So right from the very start when I had my accident I knew that I had to make the most
out of every opportunity.
Is this Mrs Bateman’s classroom?
Kids: Yes.
Hi Gabrielle.
Hi how are you Curtis?
Good. So this is room 12. Hello everyone.
Kids: Good afternoon Curtis and God Bless You.
39 years I’ve been in a wheelchair, it doesn’t seem that long though. I think it is the fact
that I’m mobile and I think that must have an effect on your well-being. My mind is certainly
active because so much happens in a day and I think that must lead towards good health
as well. I had a foot in the door really because I was in my first year at teachers college
when I had my accident and so I had begun my teacher training. It’s interesting though
because initially I never ever thought I would teach in front of a classroom…so I’m very
lucky I work full time. I love what I’m doing and every morning I just love getting
out of bed and I enjoy the collegiality of the teachers at the school here but most of
all just the children. I have had a few little hiccups along the way but my mother always
taught me that when the days are bad it’s always another day the next day so keep moving
and try not to think too much about it and enjoy the moment and enjoy the life at present…Although
it is there in the back of your mind.
Well I think that’s pretty good advice.
I won’t lie to you, I’m still a little nervous about my future but at least now I
know what to expect. Life is what you make it and being happy and healthy is really the
key to live a longer and lasting future. CYA.