What’s the most catastrophic illness that can befall us? To me it’s a spinal cord injury (SCI) that results in total paralysis. During a recent visit to Israel I interviewed Dr. Shimon Rochkind, world-renowned neurosurgeon at the Tel Aviv University Sourasky Medical Center, an expert on SCI.
Every year 12,000 North Americans sustain spinal cord injury. The people involved are usually under the age of 30 and 80 percent are males. Some, like Christopher Reeve of Superman fame, fall from a horse. Others dive into shallow water or are involved in car accidents.