Alex Mckinnion Incident

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I work at Spinal Cord Injuries Aus and I asked a colleague at spinal cure - who is wheelchair bound himself about his opinion on the diagnosis and he said that quadriplegia is a very umbrella term - you can be complete or incomplete and still retain feeling. Essentially any damage with 'C' in it is graded quadraplegia I believe. You've just got to hope for the best.

I hope the NRL don't take it further with Jordan - forget the game, the feelings he would be going through are punishment enough.
 
Yeah quadriplegic doesn't necessarily mean total loss of function in all limbs. A lot of quadriplegics have varying degrees of function in their arms. For example I think most guys that play wheelchair rugby are quadriplegic and that involves passing and catching.
 
Mint Condition said:
Yeah quadriplegic doesn't necessarily mean total loss of function in all limbs. A lot of quadriplegics have varying degrees of function in their arms. For example I think most guys that play wheelchair rugby are quadriplegic and that involves passing and catching.
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Exactly. It's the very high level quadriplegia cases that lose control over everything - even their throat sometimes so breathing is difficult.
Most people think that paraplegia and quadriplegia is associated with how much limb control you have - but it's a much more medical term which is referencing the spinal cord and where the injury is. I know people with paraplegia and quadriplegia who have the same degree of feeling.
I think it was reported that Alex had feeling in one of his arms too so you hope he can get full arms usage.
 

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vonn said:
I know people with paraplegia and quadriplegia who have the same degree of feeling.
I think it was reported that Alex had feeling in one of his arms too so you hope he can get full arms usage.
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From wikipedia (tetraplegia is another name for quadriplegia):

Tetraplegia is caused by damage to the brain or the spinal cord at a high level C1–C7—in particular, spinal cord injuries secondary to an injury to the cervical spine. The injury, which is known as a lesion, causes victims to lose partial or total function of all four limbs, meaning the arms and the legs. Tetraplegia is defined in many ways; C1–C4 usually affects arm movement more so than a C5–C7 injury; however, all tetraplegics have or have had some kind of finger dysfunction. So, it is not uncommon to have a tetraplegic with fully functional arms but no nervous control of their fingers and thumbs.
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McKinnon's fracture is at C4 and C5...so I guess it'll take some time to see what sort of function he'll have in his arms. And because he's only 22 hopefully he'll benefit from future advances in medicine and walk again.
 
Mint Condition said:
From wikipedia (tetraplegia is another name for quadriplegia):

McKinnon's fracture is at C4 and C5...so I guess it'll take some time to see what sort of function he'll have in his arms. And because he's only 22 hopefully he'll benefit from future advances in medicine and walk again.
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I know Wikipedia doesn't say this but I'm nearly sure that tetraplegia starts from C1 and means you have also injured your 'T' vertebraes down near your waist. Anyway - off topic. Just hope he makes a good recovery.
 
I am not a Rugby fan, but just wanted to express my sympathy to Alex McKinnon and his friends and family. This must be a very difficult time for them, which I hope is eased in some small way by the good wishes and support of sports followers everywhere.
 
northtothecore said:
I am not a Rugby fan, but just wanted to express my sympathy to Alex McKinnon and his friends and family. This must be a very difficult time for them, which I hope is eased in some small way by the good wishes and support of sports followers everywhere.
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Same as. Well said. Hopefully the bloke who tackled him doesn't get dealt with beyond the regular rules. I imagine he'll never be the same again on one level.
 
vealesy said:
Was at this game.

Sickening news. Thoughts go out to the family.

Hopefully Casey Tutungi can pay him a visit soon enough.
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How is Casey?
 
Really feel for Alex and his family. We should also be thinking of poor Jordan Mclean, he must be feeling sorry terrible hearing this news. We should remember Jordan is only a young fella himself, has only played about 8 games or so.

Also did anyone notice there was a bit of booing of Jordan Mclean during the game on Saturday night? I thought that was really poor.
 
mikey127 said:
Really feel for Alex and his family. We should also be thinking of poor Jordan Mclean, he must be feeling sorry terrible hearing this news. We should remember Jordan is only a young fella himself, has only played about 8 games or so.

Also did anyone notice there was a bit of booing of Jordan Mclean during the game on Saturday night? I thought that was really poor.
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Fairly expected though.
 

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mikey127 said:
Expected but still poor
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Couldn't agree more but it will get worse for him. Hopefully he is mentally tough. I remember reading the other day where his mother came out and said how gentle he is and that the Storm have worked hard on him to be more aggressive, the effects this will have on him could really end his career as well, more so if the NRL punishes him harshly.
 
mikey127 said:
Really feel for Alex and his family. We should also be thinking of poor Jordan Mclean, he must be feeling sorry terrible hearing this news. We should remember Jordan is only a young fella himself, has only played about 8 games or so.

Also did anyone notice there was a bit of booing of Jordan Mclean during the game on Saturday night? I thought that was really poor.
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It's unfortunate, but it is going to happen. When it comes to the Storm, people are very quick to judge, and judge very harshly. I've seen comments on the NRL articles online and on social media claiming he did it on purpose, he should be rubbed out of the game for a year or banned for life, etc, etc.

Absolutely terrible attitudes when all the energy should be going out in support for the young man who has not only lost his livelihood, but his life as he knew it, and the other young man who, through a pure accident via an innocuous incident that happens regularly in any NRL game, has also become a victim, not physically but mentally.

I feel for both guys, naturally more for Alex, but Jordy needs some serious counseling himself, and the nasty, jingoistic comments from biased Sydney based anti-Melbourne flogs will not be helping.
 
Tonight Channel 9 News are going to be doing an interview with a person who has quadriplegia. They specifically asked us to find someone for them to interview who is in a 'like' situation to Alex.
The implication he's got quadriplegia is pretty poor form when nothing is confirmed by the club or family.
 
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That's embarrasing by channel 9. Should be looking to sack the journalist who initially reported the news.

All the best to Alex and his family in his recovery and hope for the best possible outcome.
 
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