Controversial operation allows young paraplegic to stand
A controversial operation yet to be approved in Australia has given a young Adelaide paraplegic new hope.
The 24-year-old was told he would never walk again but is now moving his legs and even standing up with the help of a device invented in the US.
Steve Edge was an active 22-year-old when a dirt bike accident in the Riverland left him paralysed in April 2016.
“I couldn’t move my legs and it was the scariest thing that’s ever happened to me,” Steve said.
He was rushed to the Royal Adelaide Hospital where he underwent surgery, but he was told he would never be able to walk.
“We were never going to accept that Steven’s life was being in a wheelchair, sitting in a corner looking at the walls,” Steve’s father Noel said.
They signed him up for stem cell treatment in Thailand, but it’s the $100,000 epidural stimulation surgery that has had the biggest impact on Steve, who says it has changed his life.
A device developed in the US is implanted on his spinal cord and sends electrical signals to the nerve system.
The clever trick camper used to survive in bush for four days
‘True hero’ female police officer dies aged 33 after cancer battle
“I still can’t feel anything below my level injury but I can move my legs now, and that was straight away,” Steve said.
He can now stand up straight, taking steps with assistance.
It could be years before the surgery is available in Australia and doctors are warning against taking a chance on hospitals overseas.
Clinical research is expected to start at The University of Technology Sydney by the end of this year.
“There’s knowledge out there that we’re not utilising,” Steve’s father said.
Asked if he would tell Australian doctors the treatment works, he said: “Yes – the proof is in the pudding.”
