Most moms know the sense of pride and elation that comes with watching their child stand for the first time.
But few can relate to the emotional thrill that Lola Segovia felt on March 22 when she saw her 24-year-old son, Oscar, stand unassisted for the first time in almost a decade.
Just thinking about the momentous achievement brings tears to her eyes and an irrepressible urge to clap. “I can’t express what it was like,” she recalled. “It’s amazing.”
In 1995, Oscar was hit by a car while riding his motorcycle home from work in his hometown of Manresa, Spain. Two weeks later, he awoke from a coma, paralyzed from the waist down.
He was determined to walk again, but after a few years of grueling — and often frustrating — rehabilitation, he and his family lost hope.
They began to accept the belief of the Spanish medical community that Oscar — and others like him — had no chance of ever walking again.
Like many individuals facing a life of paralysis, Oscar became depressed. But one day, something revived his hope: A documentary on actor, director, activist and quadriplegic Christopher Reeve renewed his belief that progress is indeed possible.
“This life is not given for free,” Oscar said. “You have to fight for what is important and for what you want. Since I want to walk again, I plan to fight for it.”
He and his girlfriend, Monica Garcia, immediately contacted John W. McDonald, M.D., Ph.D., medical director of the Spinal Cord Injury Program at the School of Medicine.
McDonald, also an assistant professor of neurology and of neurological surgery, helped design and refine Reeve’s rehabilitation program and had published his progress, the first documented case of partial recovery more than two years after traumatic spinal cord injury.
Though Oscar had been undergoing physical therapy since his accident, the medical community in Spain — similar to most rehabilitation programs in the United States — focuses on learning to compensate for an injury rather than working toward neurological recovery.
It is generally believed that the majority of recovery occurs within the first six months to two years following a spinal cord injury.
Oscar arrived in St. Louis in early March, and he immediately began an intensive therapy regimen with McDonald’s team at the Rehabilitation Institute of St. Louis.
It wasn’t long before he not only saw results, but also felt them. Whereas he only had mild sensation in one leg in Spain, Oscar now has the ability to distinguish different types of touch on both legs. He’s even ticklish on his feet.
Within three weeks, he achieved what many thought to be impossible: standing and balancing his weight without any human assistance. Now he is able to walk with braces and a walker.
And he certainly doesn’t plan to stop there.
When he returned to Spain in April, Oscar took with him more than just memories — he was accompanied by a set of rehabilitation equipment so he could continue the intensive therapy he began in St. Louis.
“Oscar’s determination and motivation have paid off,” McDonald said. “With his energy and commitment, he should be able to continue to make progress at home, and we look forward to seeing him back in clinic within the next year to chronicle his improvements and continue to advance his program.”