On August 31 2007, I was assaulted and stabbed in the neck and chest resulting in a cerebral spinal fracture. C-6 was pushed into my spinal cord. I was taken to the hospital where I was placed under neuro-intensive care. The diagnosis was an Incomplete Spinal Cord Injury (SCI). Initially, I had lost all movement and spent 11 combined months in therapy at both the Moncton City Hospital & the Stan Cassidy Center for Rehabilitation inpatient therapy unit. The therapy there revealed that I still had good movement in my fingers and arms but both triceps had become very weak. Sensitivity does exist in most of my body, but not enough to tell the difference between cold and hot. This makes me unable to regulate my own body temperature below the neck and renders me unable to perspire. I have some movement in my legs and very little movement left in my toes. I have to use a catheter to urinate.

The SCI affected more the right side of my body than the left.  I have full use of my left arm in that I can extend it fully without any pain. On the right side, I have significant pain all over. I cannot extend both arms at once without considerable pain.

I have had some difficulty in breathing and experience a pressure sensation all over my body. Above the point of injury in my chest, I have normal sensitivity but below that point, I can only feel that pressure sensation during bowel and bladder release.  I have been confined to a wheelchair since the stabbing and my weaker triceps make me tire quickly when using my wheelchair. Also, the shock absorbed by my body due to the SCI has caused recurring chronic muscle spasms which, in turn, leads to acute body pain and restlessness.

Since being released from Stan Cassidy inpatient therapy unit, there have been some small, but noticeable improvements: my triceps are a little stronger (especially my left tricep), my upper body balance is 40% (up from 0%!), and my breathing is excellent (except for chest pains when coughing). My only setback in physical therapy was losing what movement I had left in my legs and toes. Since my partial paralysis, I have been doing research on stem cell treatment for spinal cord injuries. According to my correspondence with Beike Biotech, a leading company that provides experimental stem cell treatment at 24 hospitals in China, the particular symptoms related to my case give reason to believe that I stand a good chance of a quick recovery back to a normal life, regaining the full use of my legs.