SCI Forum

Support the Northwest Regional SCI System by donating at https://give.uwmedicine.org/sci.

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Several years after his spinal cord injury, Lan Remme became a poet. We spoke with Lan some time ago about this journey, how he learned to write and pursue this passion, and of the valuable lessons that he learned (and that we can all learn) from finding something that brings us and others joy. In addition, writing poetry brought profound benefits for Lan.

We were deeply saddened when Lan died in June of 2021. We are grateful that we had the opportunity to speak with Lan about his poetry. This recording will be a lasting and special memento for us. There is a dedication to Lan and his family as part of this podcast. At the end, we have included a reading of one of Lan’s poems written after this interview. We hope that you will listen and find the same pleasure in listening to Lan and his poetry that we did.

Support the Northwest Regional SCI System by donating at https://give.uwmedicine.org/sci

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After spinal cord injury, individuals often work with many different rehabilitation therapists across both inpatient and outpatient rehabilitation as they recover and as function changes over time. We had the chance to talk to several different kinds of rehabilitation therapists about their work including: What is involved in becoming a therapist? What are the main things that each discipline works on with their SCI patients? Why does someone choose to be a therapist and work in rehabilitation? In the fourth podcast of this series, we talk with Celina Smith MS, CCC/SLP about her work as a speech language pathologist and learn about what speech therapists focus on when working with people who have had a spinal cord injury.

Support the Northwest Regional SCI System by donating at https://give.uwmedicine.org/sci.

After listening, give us your feedback using this quick survey: https://redcap.link/sciforumpod

COVID-19 has changed our lives dramatically in the last seven months. From constant masking to a jump in telemedicine to quarantining, everyone has seen major disruptions to their daily routines. But what does COVID-19 mean specifically for people with a spinal cord injury? In this forum, Aaron Bunnell M.D., U.W. assistant professor of Rehabilitation Medicine and Jeanne Hoffman PhD, professor in the department of Rehabilitation Medicine and director of the Northwest Regional SCI System, discuss what we know and do not know about COVID-19 and spinal cord injury. They discuss Dr. Bunnell’s work in U.W. Medicine’s post COVID telehealth clinic as well as the potential issues for people with SCI and a diagnosis of COVID-19, the pros and cons of in-person routine care, and strategies for minimizing exposure from caregivers.

Support the Northwest Regional SCI System by donating at https://give.uwmedicine.org/sci.

After listening, give us your feedback using this quick survey: https://redcap.link/sciforumpod

After spinal cord injury, individuals often work with many different rehabilitation therapists across both inpatient and outpatient rehabilitation as they recover and as function changes over time. We had the chance to talk to several different kinds of rehabilitation therapists about their work including: What is involved in becoming a therapist? What are the main things that each discipline works on with their SCI patients? Why does someone choose to be a therapist and work in rehabilitation? In the third podcast of this series, we talk with Kristy Grant, CTRS about her work as a recreation therapist and learn about what recreation (rec) therapists focus on when working with people who have had a spinal cord injury.

Support the Northwest Regional SCI System by donating at https://give.uwmedicine.org/sci.

After listening, give us your feedback using this quick survey: https://redcap.link/sciforumpod

After spinal cord injury, individuals often work with many different rehabilitation therapists across both inpatient and outpatient rehabilitation as they recover and as function changes over time. We had the chance to talk to several different kinds of rehabilitation therapists about their work including: What is involved in becoming a therapist? What are the main things that each discipline works on with their SCI patients? Why does someone choose to be a therapist and work in rehabilitation? In the second podcast of this series, we talk with Leslie Fox, OTR/L about her work as an occupational therapist and learn about what occupational therapists focus on when working with people who have had a spinal cord injury.

Support the Northwest Regional SCI System by donating at https://give.uwmedicine.org/sci.

After listening, give us your feedback using this quick survey: https://redcap.link/sciforumpod

After spinal cord injury, individuals often work with many different rehabilitation therapists across both inpatient and outpatient rehabilitation as they recover and as function changes over time. We had the chance to talk to several different kinds of rehabilitation therapists about their work including: What is involved in becoming a therapist? What are the main things that each discipline works on with their SCI patients? Why does someone choose to be a therapist and work in rehabilitation? In the first podcast of this series, we talk with Jordan Cabrera P.T., D.P.T., N.C.S. about his work as a physical therapist and learn about what physical therapists focus on when working with people who have had a spinal cord injury.

Support the Northwest Regional SCI System by donating at https://give.uwmedicine.org/sci.

After listening, give us your feedback using this quick survey: https://redcap.link/sciforumpod

Originally presented on February 10, 2015

Spasticity is an almost universal complication of spinal cord injury, but the way it manifests itself varies enormously from person to person. In this forum, four individuals with SCI share their unique experiences with spasticity since their injuries, what treatments they have tried over the years, and how they are managing their spasticity now. The discussion is moderated by Dr. Jeanne Hoffman, UW professor and clinical psychologist in the UW Department of Rehabilitation Medicine. Video can be found at: http://sci.washington.edu/spasticity-part2/

Support the Northwest Regional SCI System by donating at https://give.uwmedicine.org/sci.

After listening, give us your feedback using this quick survey: https://redcap.link/sciforumpod

By Rina Reyes, MD, Amy Icarangal, PT, and Geralyn Bertellotti, OT.

Originally presented on January 13, 2015

Spasticity in spinal cord injury is often viewed as a cause of dysfunction and pain. But there is more to it than that. This SCI Forum presentation explored the positive effects of spasticity (“the good”), the negative effects (“the bad”), the neutral effects (“the not so ugly”), and a variety of interventions for spasticity. A rehabilitation medicine physician, a physical therapist, and an occupational therapist summarized the causes of spasticity and discussed a variety of conventional and non-conventional treatment options. Watch the video or read the report: http://sci.washington.edu/spasticity/index.asp

Support the Northwest Regional SCI System by donating at https://give.uwmedicine.org/sci

After listening, give us your feedback using this quick survey: https://redcap.link/sciforumpod

Loa sustained a C2 spinal cord injury while in the 12th grade. Undaunted, she went on to finish high school with her classmates and entered college the following fall. In this podcast, Loa talks with Jeanne Hoffman, PhD, about her experience adjusting to her SCI and attending college as a ventilator user. She is now an ambassador with Ventec Life Systems and blogs at www.venteclife.com/blog.

Support the Northwest Regional SCI System by donating at https://give.uwmedicine.org/sci.

After listening, give us your feedback using this quick survey: https://redcap.link/sciforumpod

What was it like to be a study participant in a clinical trial at the University of Washington? Find out in this podcast, where Jeanne Hoffman, PhD, interviews Jon, a person with SCI who volunteered for the study that was highlighted in our first podcast, Transcutaneous Electrical Stimulation with Chet Moritz. This study is designed to restore hand and arm function in SCI using a non-invasive procedure. Jon shared the remarkable impact that this has made on his life. After listening, please give us feedback using this survey: https://is.gd/sciforumpod