DerbyCity Area Chapter of the National Spinal Cord Injury Association
ABOUT THE ORGANIZATION
The Derby City Area Chapter of the N.S.C.I.A. is a membership organization for individuals with spinal cord injuries, their families, and health professionals. Founded in 1984 as a Charter Member of the N.S.C.I.A., it was incorporated under IRS Section 501 (c) 3 as a not for profit organization. The Board of Directors consists of the Officers, Past President and the Board Members At Large.
*** OFFICERS
PRESIDENT
David Allgood - (502) 589-6620
VICE PRESIDENT
Adam Ford - (502) 425-2206
TREASURER
Tom Stokes- (502) 957-5865
LIAISON TO FRAZIER INSTITUTE
Jill Farmer
FUNDRAISING CHAIR
Betty Perry—(502) 647-0368
CORRESPONDING SECRETARY/WEB MASTER
Michael Feger- (502) 647-0368
PAST PRESIDENT
Adam Ford- (502) 425-2206
BOARD MEMBERS AT LARGE-
Mike Perry
Kelly Young
NSCIA DERBY CITY CHAPTER NEWSLETTER
Editor- Barbara Davis
Contributor- David Allgood
Visit Our Website at www.DerbyCitySpinalCord.org
From the Internet –ed. FATHERING CHILDREN WHILE PARALYZED
In the weeks following the car accident that left him paralyzed below the waist, Geoff Luther was haunted by worries that he'd lost the chance to become a father.
Then 27, he hadn't yet fallen in love with the woman of his dreams. When he did, he wanted to start a family with her. But how?
"It was some of the stuff I was thinking about the most," said Luther, who rolled his S-10 Blazer on black ice. "What about having children? What about getting married? Can you naturally conceive a family?"
His questions are shared by thousands of young men each year who suffer paralyzing spine injuries. But many men give up hope, or suffer unnecessary, invasive procedures — because their doctors don't know about simple ways to help them.
Doctors at the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago told Luther, now 43, that most men with SCI can father children. But the treatments that allowed Luther and his wife, Tammy, 38, to conceive aren't offered to many injured men.
Instead some fertility doctors jump immediately to expensive, invasive procedures, such as surgically extracting sperm from the testes of men in wheelchairs.
The Luthers, who live in Oak Brook, Ill., avoided that procedure. Nonetheless, it took six years and, they acknowledge frankly, tens of thousands of dollars before they succeeded. But after a tour through most of the methods and procedures of rehab fertility medicine, the Luthers conceived their son, Trent, now 6, and daughter, Kayla, now 3.
"We went through it all," Tammy Luther said.
Their story illustrates how determined couples can conceive with guidance from medical professionals versed in techniques that work for paralyzed men.
Unfortunately, many fertility clinics don't know the basics.
Nancy Brackett, a researcher at the Miami Project to Cure Paralysis, surveyed more than 100 fertility clinics and discovered that 28 percent don't offer two simple techniques that rehab experts have used successfully and that work for 95 percent of Paraplegic and quadriplegic men. Brackett published her findings in the October issue of "Fertility and Sterility", a journal read by reproductive medicine doctors.
Most men with spinal cord injuries have varying degrees of difficulty with erection and ejaculation. Medications like Viagra help some. Others need only a special vibrator to collect sperm; insemination of their partners can be done with a syringe in private, at home.
Paul and Shelly LeVasseur of Winfield, Ill., felt lucky they could conceive at home.
