Jeni B.
My friend John is paralyzed from the shoulders down (he has limited use of his hands and arms). He has to wear a catheter to catch his urine, which must be analyzed often to check for infection. No, he can’t feel it. Each morning he must also have an enema because he has no control of his bowels. This saves much embarrassment on his part. From what I understand, anyone like him has to have much the same things done to them. Every morning and evening, his caretaker checks his entire body for sores and signs of illness, and takes a rectal temperature. Why? If John is in a hot environment, his body temperature must be monitored. He doesn’t sweat from the shoulders down – severed nerves in his neck cause this – so his oral and rectal temperature can be very different. If it’s cool and he has a high rectal temperature, this strongly suggests he is ill. Remember, he can’t feel anything from the shoulders down, so something like appendicitis could kill him easily and quickly. By the way, he works full time and is able to drive a specially equipped van!
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