Dan Bishop, a wrestler for the University of Buffalo in New York, has shown drastic improvement since his spinal cord injury on March 6. By March 16, Bishop was reported to have supported himself without help for the first time since his injury. Bishop suffered a fracture to two of his vertebrae and damage to a major artery during a competition in the Mid-American Conference semifinals, a Google News article reported.
Bishop has spent much of his time recovering in a hospital in Saginaw, Michigan. Since his condition has improved much more quickly than doctors first expected, Bishop was recently moved to a rehabilitation hospital in Schenectady, New York to continue his efforts toward a full recovery.
Just after the injury, Bishop had lost all feeling in his extremities and was considered in serious condition. Doctors thought his injuries were life threatening, an ESPN Sports article reported. He underwent surgery to have his vertebrae fused and to have a metal plate and screws installed to support his spine. His parents stayed near his side during his entire stay the Saginaw hospital. His father Norm said, ‘My wife and I are staying here in Saginaw and will be bringing Danny home with us. It has just been phenomenal what people have done for us,’ ESPN reported.
Jim Beichner, Bishop’s wrestling coach at Buffalo, commended trainers and EMTs for their prompt and professional response to Bishop’s injury. Without such a skilled reaction, Bishop may not be as well off as he is today. Before Bishop had even accomplished the goal of standing on his own, Beichner predicted his full recovery. ‘The Bishop family and all of us could not have asked for anything more in terms of care and consideration and consider it a complete blessing that Danny has the chance to walk again, considering the magnitude of the injury,’ he told ESPN.
References:
Associated Press Staff. (March 16, 2010) ‘Buffalo wrestler standing on his own in latest step since sustaining spinal cord injury.’ Retreived on March 30, 2010 from the Google News Web site: http://www.google.com/hostednews/canadianpress/article/ALeqM5geSIk3LPxPM…
Associated Press Staff. (March 8, 2010) ‘Buffalo’s Bishop in serious condition.’ Retreived on March 30, 2010 from the ESPN Sports Web site: http://sports.espn.go.com/ncaa/news/story?id=4977554
Associated Press Staff. (March 16, 2010) ‘Bishop stands, sends text message.’ Retrieved on March 30, 2010 from the ESPN Sports Web site: http://sports.espn.go.com/ncaa/news/story?id=5001565
Associated Press Staff. (March 11, 2010) ‘Buffalo wrestler recovering in Saginaw after spinal cord injury.’ Retrieved on March 30, 2010 from the Michigan Morning Sun Web site:http://www.themorningsun.com/articles/2010/03/11/sports/doc4b98c2719f508…