Below is an update on Tre’ progress as reported by Jon O’Connor, founder and CEO of NextSteps Chicago – himself a quadriplegic as the result of a diving accident.

First, some . . .

BACKGROUND

Tre’, 17, was referred to us by our partner, Don Dalton, from Assistive Technologies, Inc. Tre’ was shot in a drive-by on March 2, 2007 while working on his car in the driveway of his aunt’s house in Aurora. Tre’ was shot in the neck and his brother was shot in the foot as they both dove for cover. Neither Tre’ nor his brother were part of any gangs. This was a random shooting or thought to be a case of mistaken identity. The police have never found the shooter.

Although Tre’s condition has been stabilized, he has no movement below his shoulders. He does have some feeling inside of his body and some sensation at the bottom of his feet. He is only able to move his head and neck left and right and up and down. He is verbal and breaths with the assistance of a ventilator. Within the last month, Tre’ was fitted with a ‘pace maker’ for his diaphragm which, over time, will allow him to come off of the ventilator for extended periods of time and become more mobile and independent.

We are currently partnering with the Aurora Rotary Club to reach out to the Winfrey’s to develop long-term relationships in the community and to meet their other needs.

UPDATE

From: Jon O’Connor - Sunday, December 07, 2008 4:41 PM

Richard (Tre')

Richard has been coming to NextSteps twice per week since November 11.

Richard’s injury is a severe C 1, 2 (cervical) spinal cord injury which causes him to depend on a ventilator for his breathing. Richard has proven to be a very determined patient.

Richards exercise sessions last two hours and we have been starting him with passive range-of-motion where he is encouraged in to assist the motion and trigger voluntary muscle movements. This is followed by static stretching, both of which are warm-ups for weight bearing exercise.

The weight bearing exercise we have been doing with Richard is on a standing frame (tilt table). This table allows the trainer to adjust the standing angle from zero to 90°. At first, Richard could only tolerate 35°. He can now go to 90°.

During the weight-bearing phase, trainers will move Richard’s arms increasing circulation; perform shoulder press, chest press, elbow flexions, and extension. Last month Richard had an experimental surgery where a pacemaker diaphragm was installed to assist Richard regain his ability to breath. He is gradually reducing the amount of time he is on the ventilator. Once Richard is off the ventilator, we can get him on the Locomat walking machine.

Learn more about NextSteps Chicago, the Locomat and the terrific work that Jon and his team are doing at