My Own View
I'm tired of this pointless debate. One mindset has entrenched itself into believing that to try for recovery is false hope and harmful denial. The other mindset pours all hope into expensive and invasive surgery in the desperate hope that we'll soon find a way out of here. And unchecked or misunderstood, this hope can wear one down.
Medical staff who tell you that You'll never walk again; physiotherapists who question why you want to exercise just because you felt a twitch in your toe ("but you're paralysed!"); SCI forums, readers' letters and magazine articles that sensationalise, praise and condemn: we've all met it.
Well, let's slow down, and let each individual make a personal decision to do what they think is best, based on openness of information available, and what suits them.
For me, in both Albert Bohbot's and Hratch Ogali's clinics, I have seen a voice of reason, saying nothing is impossible. It makes sense to me that if I exercise and use my legs, they will be better for it. As a complete spinal cord injury, I should not have the reflexes to exercise my legs - yet when I have been shown what to do and apply myself, I have seen changes.
If I see changes, why should I deny them on the grounds of a clinician's refusal to consider something outside of his training? Those who do not exercise their legs seem beset by bladder infections and pressure sores, brittle bones, you name it, the magazines are full of things from which we can suffer.
If you don't want to believe in this, I truly do not mind. But please, don't try telling me that I cannot do it. And what right do you have to tell someone, who is depressed and desperate to regain normal function, that their goals are impossible.
Belief and hard work win Olympic golds, keep cancer sufferers alive for years beyond their due by date, make children into winners and leaders. It takes great men and women to the highest and harshest points on the earth and brings them home again.
Negativity bring chaos, disorder and misery - which is often then preyed on by the powerful and unscrupulous.
I would have had respect for the establishment if they had said this to me: "Guy, with all our training and experience we can tell you only this: we do not have the ability to get you back on your feet, or restore normal bladder, bowel or sexual function to you. Science is constantly looking for a cure, but it's not there yet and there's no say when it will be. You will see plenty of different options out there - scientific and alternative - and should you choose to go down that route, instead of simply accepting your position and leading an otherwise fulfilling life, you'll have to make up your own mind: we're in no position to advise you. Hope is a good thing if used wisely, but can bring your life to a standstill if there is nothing else besides."
But they didn't. Instead they said: "Don't try. Don't go looking around the internet for a cure. There isn't one. Accept your position and get on with your life. I know plenty of people who live happy lives in wheelchairs."
I offer this invitation to others: Watch Me.