Help me move my arms and legs again
Donation protected
Hey my name is Edward Lopez on April 18, 2018 I got a spinal cord injury at the level Cervical 4. Basically I’m unable to move my arms or legs and have been this way for a year now. since there is no cure when the spinal cord is injured doctors can do nothing but stabilize your spine. Basically your spinal cord is left injured and is left to recover on its own. Most are not lucky enough to recover. my spinal cord injury was so severe that I’ve seen little to no progress since I was injured one year ago.
A chance to move again
in 2014 researchers started testing something called epidural stimulation on humans. Basically it amplifies the signal between your brain and muscles via an electric current on the spinal cord, allowing the injured person to regain movement. It’s not available to the public in USA yet but it is available in Thailand for a price. I plan to receive the surgery in my neck where it can return movement in my arms and maybe my legs. I have been cleared to get the surgery and all that is stopping me from getting it is money. Every dollar donated is one dollar less My family and I won’t have to pay.
Physical effect of my injury on my life
My dream is to be a martial arts teacher at my own school but that dream was destroyed on April 18, 2018. This surgery is my only chance to live my life again. I’ve always been very active and had a strong body but after my injury I suffered from severe muscle atrophy which has left me with a skeleton for a body. I used to work out at least two times a day and loved to work out and practice martial arts. It was a part of my soul that I was robbed from doing, now I’m unable to even feed myself or move a single muscle. I have lost a part of my soul.
Emotional affect on my mentality
being unable to do do what I love and to be bound to a wheelchair having to be spoon fed is horrible. I once was a man with dignity and grace. I had pride in my strength that took almost a decade to create and seeing it disappear in only a week while All I could do was watch it go away has left me empty. I was independent, paying my own bills, cooking, working, studying, living alone. Now I’m the complete opposite. I went from being one of the strongest people you’d meet to one of the weakest. From being completely independent to completely dependent. I have been depressed many times and was unable to sleep until 4:30am everyday for a couple months because I didn’t know how I can go on forever this way. There’s no cure and no doctor can help me. Then I found about the epidural stimulation surgery in Thailand and I finally was able to sleep at night. I had no purpose, everyone in this world has a purpose to go on, a duty they must fulfill whether that is through their job or through their children or through school but tell me what purpose does a man who can move nothing and in such a condition left unable to have children (for now) have? My soul was taken from me. If it were not for the existence of this surgery I would be seriously contemplating Human Euthanasia. Now I’m determined to recover, to take my body to its absolute limit, if I am unable to recover then everyone is unable to recover because nobody will train harder than me
Social affect of my injury
I had many friends before my injury and was beginning to experience what it is like to love. Immediately After my injury many of my friends at the time came to see me, once. After coming only one time I have never heard from them again nor did they make the effort to visit me when I was at Yale, 15 minutes from school. I have always been friendly to everyone and helped people. The same people whom I called friends, whom I helped many times in their time of need, whom I swore would be by my side have abandoned me in my greatest time of need. Even some family has never visited me even though they lived in the same neighborhood as my hospital. But I found good friends in my time of need, people I would only say hi to would constantly support me and keep in contact with me to this day. They are close to my heart to help me when others abandoned me. I only visit the hospital and have not gone anywhere else, I tried, but everywhere I went people stared and stared and stared as if I were some kind of freak. I am insecure and don’t want to go out until I can at least use my arms.
Resilience
despite all i have mentioned my warriors heart as a martial artist has not dissapeared. I’d be lying if I said I never gave up because there were times I did but I swore to myself I would fight to the very end. If this was the end of my life then I wanted to go out as I lived. But it’s not the end, far from the end and it will be a fight harder than anything I will ever have to overcome for the rest of my life and although I cannot guarantee I will recover I can guarantee I will use every ounce of willpower training
A chance to move again
in 2014 researchers started testing something called epidural stimulation on humans. Basically it amplifies the signal between your brain and muscles via an electric current on the spinal cord, allowing the injured person to regain movement. It’s not available to the public in USA yet but it is available in Thailand for a price. I plan to receive the surgery in my neck where it can return movement in my arms and maybe my legs. I have been cleared to get the surgery and all that is stopping me from getting it is money. Every dollar donated is one dollar less My family and I won’t have to pay.
Physical effect of my injury on my life
My dream is to be a martial arts teacher at my own school but that dream was destroyed on April 18, 2018. This surgery is my only chance to live my life again. I’ve always been very active and had a strong body but after my injury I suffered from severe muscle atrophy which has left me with a skeleton for a body. I used to work out at least two times a day and loved to work out and practice martial arts. It was a part of my soul that I was robbed from doing, now I’m unable to even feed myself or move a single muscle. I have lost a part of my soul.
Emotional affect on my mentality
being unable to do do what I love and to be bound to a wheelchair having to be spoon fed is horrible. I once was a man with dignity and grace. I had pride in my strength that took almost a decade to create and seeing it disappear in only a week while All I could do was watch it go away has left me empty. I was independent, paying my own bills, cooking, working, studying, living alone. Now I’m the complete opposite. I went from being one of the strongest people you’d meet to one of the weakest. From being completely independent to completely dependent. I have been depressed many times and was unable to sleep until 4:30am everyday for a couple months because I didn’t know how I can go on forever this way. There’s no cure and no doctor can help me. Then I found about the epidural stimulation surgery in Thailand and I finally was able to sleep at night. I had no purpose, everyone in this world has a purpose to go on, a duty they must fulfill whether that is through their job or through their children or through school but tell me what purpose does a man who can move nothing and in such a condition left unable to have children (for now) have? My soul was taken from me. If it were not for the existence of this surgery I would be seriously contemplating Human Euthanasia. Now I’m determined to recover, to take my body to its absolute limit, if I am unable to recover then everyone is unable to recover because nobody will train harder than me
Social affect of my injury
I had many friends before my injury and was beginning to experience what it is like to love. Immediately After my injury many of my friends at the time came to see me, once. After coming only one time I have never heard from them again nor did they make the effort to visit me when I was at Yale, 15 minutes from school. I have always been friendly to everyone and helped people. The same people whom I called friends, whom I helped many times in their time of need, whom I swore would be by my side have abandoned me in my greatest time of need. Even some family has never visited me even though they lived in the same neighborhood as my hospital. But I found good friends in my time of need, people I would only say hi to would constantly support me and keep in contact with me to this day. They are close to my heart to help me when others abandoned me. I only visit the hospital and have not gone anywhere else, I tried, but everywhere I went people stared and stared and stared as if I were some kind of freak. I am insecure and don’t want to go out until I can at least use my arms.
Resilience
despite all i have mentioned my warriors heart as a martial artist has not dissapeared. I’d be lying if I said I never gave up because there were times I did but I swore to myself I would fight to the very end. If this was the end of my life then I wanted to go out as I lived. But it’s not the end, far from the end and it will be a fight harder than anything I will ever have to overcome for the rest of my life and although I cannot guarantee I will recover I can guarantee I will use every ounce of willpower training
Organizer
Edward Lopez
Organizer
Bell Gardens, CA