Hamilton man recovering after devastating spinal cord injury

A Hamilton man shares his story of a remarkable recovery from a devastating spinal cord injury.

Hamilton teacher Ben Board was on the beach in Florida when he dove into the water and hit a sandbar and broke his neck. Board walks a little awkwardly now but he is standing and walking, a year ago this month it wasn’t clear he’d be able to do that.

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He says, “…I felt a snap at the back of my neck and I opened my eyes in the water and I moved to get up but nothing happened and I could look and see my arms just drifting below me and couldn’t move them and I instantly realized that I was paralyzed.” He almost drowned but his friends pulled him out, completely paralyzed.

There happened to be doctors and neurosurgeons on the beach who helped him on the spot. He was treated in a leading Florida spine injury centre and then flew back to Canada for rehab at Hamilton General Hospital.

Board is now focusing on new stem cell therapies and robotic-assisted therapies available in Germany and hopes a GoFundMe page will help him get there.

Thoughts of Board’s two young sons helped keep him going, even when it was tough changing diapers, “My hands are very stiff, they’re very numb. Those little things are a huge challenge I think the bigger challenge was again the emotional piece.”

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He says the past year of struggle was emotional more than physical, “however powerful our bodies are, our brain is immensely more powerful and it creates our reality for us really. So maintaining a positive frame of mind and maintaining focus on your goals instead of allowing yourself to slip into despair, is the biggest difference.”

Board’s physiotherapist at Hamilton General Regional Rehab Centre says everyone’s different in cases of spinal cord injury. Recovery depends on how traumatic the injury was and it helps to have a positive attitude. He also characterizes these situations as lifelong recovery.