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victims cry
 Posted:
Sun Sep 24, 2006 10:04 pm |
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"paralyzed and pregnant"
I am watching this amazing show..im not sure who is braver, the mom or the dad. Both are wondrful people, and that she even chose to go through a pregnancy was a surprise, but the support of her husband, and the strength of both of them is phenomenol.
Its being rerun at 1 am on TLC channel.
One of her last comments on the show was "people who are disabled are allowed to be happy"
Her husband said "fatherhood has turned out to be very rewarding"
She actually became more disabled after her pregnancy.
Here is a small interview i found on the web with her
The Discovery Health Channel's hour-long documentary, "Paralyzed and Pregnant," exposes Michelle Carston's experience of having a spinal cord injury and bringing a baby into the world.
Who/what contributed to your inner strength?
My love for my husband and wanting to have a child with him gave me the inner strength to endure a very difficult pregnancy. It was the toughest challenge that I have ever faced, and yet, it is the most rewarding feeling I have ever felt, too.
When in your life was your inner strength particularly tested and how did you deal with the incident?
My inner strength was put to the test the most throughout the pregnancy, itself. It was the toughest challenge I've ever faced. Now after conquering it, I feel empowered, as if it really did make me stronger!
What suggestions do you have to help people realize their capabilities?
If you want something badly enough, envision that nothing can stop you from getting it. It may seem like you may never obtain your goal, or that too many obstacles stand in your way, but take it step by step. You will eventually get it and appreciate it more for having the challenge of getting it. The key is wanting it badly enough!
Why is it important to focus on inner strength?
It is important to focus on inner strength because it gives you confidence. Confidence is imperative to thrive in the world. I'm not a person who sits back and waits to see what life puts in front of me. I set my mind on a specific goal, then keep plugging away at it until it becomes reality. I would much rather go after what I want in life, rather than settle for second best. Achieving goals begins with finding your inner strength and not giving up until you reach each one, even with the smallest of tasks. Pushing yourself to follow through with tasks becomes habitual and things eventually seem to take less effort because of the learned inner-conditioning.
What are your next goals and what positive thoughts or activities keep you striving toward your goals?
My goals are to enjoy each day with my husband, Peter, and our 8-month-old baby, Pierce. It took me 35 years to achieve my goal of marrying the right man for me, and creating a family. Many, many obstacles in life got in my way, but I never gave up hope that my Mr. Right was still out there, and that I would mother his child. I have many other goals, but my family tops them all.
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| Danse Macabre
Posted:
Mon Sep 25, 2006 12:21 am |
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wow.
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** Banned **
Joined: 19 Aug 2006
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| victims cry
Posted:
Mon Sep 25, 2006 12:28 am |
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one of the most interesting things i learned is that not only did they get pregnant the "normal" way, but that even though she is paralyzed it doesnt mean other nerves didnt work and in fact sexual intensity is bigger and orgasms last longer. Has to do with what nervous system is affected.
I certainly had always assumed paralyzed people could have decent sex lives albeit modified with their partners, but not that they still gained orgasms let alone that they were intensified (i suppose on the level of all other areas taking over senses)
the diff systems is why the birth was so difficult to manage, on the bad side too. She couldnt feel pain, but her body could and was reacting to it, in fact teh body can over react to it. Blood pressure of course rises and other side effects since the normal measures to control it arent available when you cant feel it or describe it
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| Night_Owl
Posted:
Mon Sep 25, 2006 12:52 am |
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...
Last edited by Night_Owl on Wed Nov 29, 2006 5:38 pm; edited 1 time in total
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I know, but I can't say!
Joined: 24 Mar 2006
Posts: 117
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| Helen
Posted:
Mon Sep 25, 2006 8:50 am |
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| victims cry wrote: | one of the most interesting things i learned is that not only did they get pregnant the "normal" way, but that even though she is paralyzed it doesnt mean other nerves didnt work and in fact sexual intensity is bigger and orgasms last longer. Has to do with what nervous system is affected.
I certainly had always assumed paralyzed people could have decent sex lives albeit modified with their partners, but not that they still gained orgasms let alone that they were intensified (i suppose on the level of all other areas taking over senses) |
Mitchell Tepper, PhD, president of the Sexual Health Network (www.sexualhealth.com), travels the country speaking about sexuality to conventions and groups of people with disabilities. Tepper, whose spinal cord was injured in a diving accident when he was working as a lifeguard some 20 years ago, tells listeners that television and movies often promote myths about sexuality and disability.
"For example, people with spinal cord injury are often portrayed in movies as sexually frustrated men and women who either have to rely on buying sex from a prostitute or have to go without," he says.
"Nothing could be further from the truth, says Beverly Whipple, PhD, RN, FAAN, a professor emerita in the college of nursing in the neuroscience center at Rutgers University and a noted researcher on sexual health. "Sexuality encompasses the totality of our being," she says. "Think of a candy cane. The red is the peppermint flavor. But do you only taste peppermint in the red or throughout the candy cane? You taste it throughout, and similarly our sexuality goes through all of us.""
Read article here
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Posts: 430
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| victims cry
Posted:
Mon Sep 25, 2006 10:43 am |
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Thanks Helen. Im so glad to see this myth come out of the closet, and get debunked. I would imagine one of the hardest things for a quad or paraplegic to find is a partner, who is willing to enter into a relationship with all the challenges that it entail, as well as thinking sex was not really an option. Its one thing when you are already married, you can learn together from doctors and therapists, but people like Michelle who are single at the time of the accident dont normally have the luxury of people they meet understanding that they can have a full relationship with all parts of a "normal" one, including sexuality. Obviously there are many other difficulties, but that is one that seems to be one that isnt. Yet probably a major one that holds some people back from getting involved.
Here is the part that shows why it works, and how. In the experiment they used T6 injuries, but obviously in cases like Carston with a C5 it still applies.
| Quote: | Pleasure Bypasses Spinal Cord
In one study, 16 women with various levels of complete spinal cord injury (below vertebra T-6, meaning that they were paraplegic, not quadriplegic) were compared with five women who had no spinal cord injury. Each used a specially designed tool to stimulate themselves in vaginal and cervical areas as well as in other parts of their body above the level of their injuries where they felt especially sensitive.
"Only one of the non-spinal-cord-injury women had an orgasm, while three of the women with [spinal cord injury] had an orgasm in the laboratory," Whipple says. "One had six orgasms during the experiment. One had never had any sexual stimulation in the two years since her injury, and these were her first."
If there's no "feeling" below the waist, then what explains these sensations? Whipple notes that a nerve bundle called the sensory vagus bypasses the spinal cord, carrying nerve impulses directly from the genitals to the brain. So even if the spinal cord is damaged, "pleasure" messages can be carried through the sensory vagus from the genitals to the brain, triggering the experience of orgasm.
Whipple and her colleagues even confirmed this theory by doing PET scans of women with complete spinal cord injury. These tests showed that an area of their brains that is connected to the genitals through the sensory vagus was indeed receiving signals. |
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| MJTenn
Posted:
Mon Sep 25, 2006 11:56 am |
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I believe this is somewhat related to the topic. I thought of Erin Brady Worsham immediately when I read these posts here. She was struck with Lou Gehrig's disease shortly after the birth of her son. I have met both she and her husband on several occasions, and the life they lead is a testament to courage, determination and perserverance. And faith.
The article at this link tells much of her story. http://www.incrediblepeople.com/cover_story.htm
Some of her art is included in the article. She does this on the computer by moving her eyebrows.
And she writes some of the most incredible Letters to the Editor you have ever seen...she has been a 3star letter writer several different years. When you think of the amount of time it takes her to even type a sentence, makes it just that more amazing.
I love her art. "Winging It" is my favorite that she has done.
Erin Brady Worsham's story, like the one VC posted, is uplifting and humbling at the same time.
eta: here is another link which explains how the technology works that allows Erin to communicate.
http://www.prentrom.com/profiles/profileaug0.html
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| Danse Macabre
Posted:
Mon Sep 25, 2006 6:26 pm |
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I enjoyed reading this story, it's amazing, and humbling too.
I have a beautiful friend who's dated a lot of losers but she's been with a guy in a wheelchair who is paralyzed from the waist down for quite a long time- after all the losers she finally found her prince. They broke up once for a bit, and ended right back up together. She's turned down other guys for him.and is really proud that he;s quite the catch and their love life is fantastic...it is a sad stereotype/myth that someone with a disability or whatever is somehow less of a person, or less attractive, or less able to have a fulfilling life. I bet they stay together for keeps. And she's not the type to "settle".
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| Pooky
Posted:
Mon Sep 25, 2006 6:37 pm |
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Thank you for sharing these. It's so heartwarming to read the good things that happen to people and not just always reading the tragedy.
What an inspiration this woman and her husband are! 
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Got A One Way Ticket
Joined: 23 Mar 2006
Posts: 4498
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| victims cry
Posted:
Mon Sep 25, 2006 6:42 pm |
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| Pooky wrote: | Thank you for sharing these. It's so heartwarming to read the good things that happen to people and not just always reading the tragedy.
What an inspiration this woman and her husband are! |
Yes it is, and like any "difference" its important to explode the myths. That Michelle and her husband allowed themselves to be filmed during the pregnancy, and birth as well as openly discussing the challenges and joys of a partnership with a disabled person goes a long way to allowing others to remember that the person they see in a wheelchair isnt just a shell, and that they can still have fulfilling relationships.
DM your friend sounds like she met a wonderful man!
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