Pamela Bell Jacksonville, North Carolina, USA

L4-S1 Incomplete Cauda Equina Syndrome, November 2003

My life on four wheels started with a slide down a flight of icy concrete steps on my backside one winter morning in November 2003.
I always had back problems as a young adult, battling sciatica and herniated disks, so this was the icing on the cake.

The fall fractured my coccyx/sacrum, the L4 and L5 vertebrae, and ruptured the disks. Recent EMG's and x-ray's show continuing damage at L3 and L2.

Although I have some motor function my Cauda Equina Syndrome is severe and I have no feeling from the waist down and I am losing bowel and bladder function.

Now I advocate for awareness for spinal cord injuries and disabilities, and I've placed 2nd for Ms. WheelChair North Carolina.