NurseWeek News

Resolve of Steel
Success of Christopher Reeve's therapy provides inspiration to rehab patients

By Katherine Vestal, Ph.D., RN, FAAN, Great Lakes Editor
November 26, 2002

It is another gray day in Northern Michigan, with the leaves finally falling and the cold weather setting in for the next few months. It is a sure signal that the end of another year is approaching, and it is natural to reflect on all that has transpired.

After the constant news of world unrest, it is exciting and inspiring to hear a story like Christopher Reeve's. The news of his continued successes with nerve regeneration as a result of new and intense rehabilitation gives hope to people with spinal cord damage and to the many clinical providers who work with them every day.

Each day, the nurses and therapists who are a part of Reeve's care team direct and provide the most vigorous and intense therapy that I have ever heard provided to an individual. It gives me hope that if everyone who needs this level of rehabilitation could get it, we might make monumental strides in returning function to many people with nerve injuries.

We now have new knowledge of treatment modalities that can make a difference. It will be equally important to drive changes in reimbursement to support the additional services. We will have to prove to the insurance companies that the investment in intense rehabilitation can result in substantial recovery for these patients.

Discussion of this type of intense rehab therapy for stroke and brain injury patients has been growing and, increasingly, the research is supporting the improved outcomes.

So as I look back over the year, this is a medical breakthrough that I am excited about. With the new technologies and clinical knowledge, there is so much for us to look forward to seeing in our lifetimes. It is easy to get bogged down in the day-to-day problems, but it is these new discoveries that will be a part of our nursing care tomorrow. We will be the ones to carry the new discoveries forward and to make a difference to our patients. The success of Reeve's therapies created hope for many people. And that is half the battle in a long process of rehabilitation.

NURSEWEEK was welcomed into Reeve's home for this story because of the tremendous respect he has for nurses. I will remember this story as a highlight of 2002.

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