OT: Alex Mckinnon

[TheParraboy]

Im speechless, poor bugger has been diagnosed as quadriplegic

Makes footy seem so irrelevant



http://news.optuszoo.com.au/2014/03/31/report-mckinnon-diagnosed-quadriplegic/

Mar 31, 2014 6:34PM

KNIGHTS player Alex McKinnon has been diagnosed as a quadriplegic, a week after being hospitalised in a tackle against Melbourne Storm.

Channel 9 reported the tragic news on Monday night.

McKinnon suffered the injury in a tackle last Monday while playing for the Knights against the Storm.

He has since undergone two operations to have a disc removed and to fuse his C4 and C5 vertebrae together.

The second operation also involved a bone graft where a piece was taken from his hip to help support his neck.

Quadriplegia is caused by damage to the spinal cord at a high level, C1 to C7.

It is a paralysis that results in the partial or total loss of the use of all a sufferer’s limbs and torso.

A statement released by the Knights on Sunday said McKinnon had his assisted ventilation removed and could now communicate with his family.

 

[The EELiminator]

from the knights forum:

Not much to go on but someone posted this in the NRL forum, obviously to be taken a grain of salt since we have no real official word on anything yet:

To everybody posting, reposting and sharing posts about recent news regarding Alex McKinnon.

MMM did a extensive interview and update regarding this.

Alex McKinnon has NOT been told he will be a quadriplegic!

He has been told that at this stage the diagnosis is quadriplegia.

At this stage his spine has been stabilised. His spinal cord is significantly damaged BUT was not severed.

The next step is flying him to the spinal unit in Sydney where they will begin looking at his spinal cord and how they can treat it.

The damage to his spinal cord at present is resulting in quadriplegia - but this is not to say that this is permanent. It may well be - but the Doctors are certainly not there at this point. They haven't even begun!

It was also made clear that the Doctors in these cases only talk to patients and family IN THE PRESENT - as the issues are serious and they can make no promises or guarantees - they don't get ahead of themselves and try to not let patients get ahead of themselves one way or the other. They are staying in the now.

I don't see that sensationalised social media can help Alex or his family and friends - especially when it's going in a completely different direction to what the Doctors and Specialists are themselves taking with Alex and his family!

 

[The EELiminator]

so this is an at-this-stage diagnosis NOT a permanent one

i wish people would check their facts before they go crazy especially with such a sensitive story
god forbid any of his family or friends heard about it

 

[TheParraboy]

Sometimes hearing the worst potential news with what they have means there is only one way to go from now on, and that is to improve and see how much he can get better.

False hope is the worst thing he or anyone else can be told now in my opinion. Im sure he is in good hands and being guided through everything

Im sure every person wishes he recovers in best outcome possible

 

[Poupou Escobar]

How would the media sell advertising space without sensational headlines?

We should all be f**king disgusted at ourselves for making it (media bullshit) work.

 

[The EELiminator]

Sometimes hearing the worst potential news with what they have means there is only one way to go from now on, and that is to improve and see how much he can get better.

False hope is the worst thing he or anyone else can be told now in my opinion. Im sure he is in good hands and being guided through everything

Im sure every person wishes he recovers in best outcome possible

false despair is just as bad sure there is a chance he WILL be quadriplegic but we are a long long way from a permanent diagnosis yet

 

[The EELiminator]

How would the media sell advertising space without sensational headlines?

We should all be f**king disgusted at ourselves for making it (media bullshit) work.

i know god forbid someone from his family heard that news and assumed alex would never walk again fkn media parasites how do they sleep at night

 

[TheParraboy]

How do you sensationalize a puplic sports person who has been diagnosed as quadriplegic?

If it is bogus or a sick play on the truth, then its time for the source (ch9?) to be sued off the planet

 

[TheParraboy]

false despair is just as bad sure there is a chance he WILL be quadriplegic but we are a long long way from a permanent diagnosis yet

Agree we are a long way off to knowing how he will end up. Look at Ben Ross, didn't they tell him he'd never walk?

 

[I bleed blue & gold]

Fingers crossed that he'll be right.

 

[Suitman]

I don't give a shit about what the media has or has not done, or said, or claimed.

We are talking about another human here.
All I'm thinking about is his wellbeing.
I pray for him and his family that he comes through this.

Come On Alex!

Suity

 

[muznik]

I don't give a shit about what the media has or has not done, or said, or claimed.

We are talking about another human here.
All I'm thinking about is his wellbeing.
I pray for him and his family that he comes through this.

Come On Alex!

Suity

Hear hear!

I don't care what Fox sports or 9 may have said.
At the moment Alex & his family are facing a terrible diagnosis (hopefully only a temporary one)

My thoughts & best wishes go out to him & his loved ones.

 

[Gary Gutful]

Best wishes Alex.

 

[Suitman]

May I add, that when I heard this afternoon that Alex has/had been diagnosed quadriplegic, it just made me sad.
I can't believe there is any discussion about anything other than his condition, and the thoughts for him and his family.

Suity

 

[spiderdan]

I don't think they intended to sensationalize the initial report, I think they just reported based on what most of us think of when we hear the words quad- or para- palegic based on our own precious understanding of it (kinda like on a less tragic level when Paul kent was talking about sandow earl's ped usage saying it wasn't the same as Ben Johnson taking ElephantJuice that made him run fast, but to rehabilitate an injury).

I don't think they made any jump to a conclusion that was further than most of us did.

In any case, I am pretty sure that everyone that follows nrl would be wishing him the best for a recovery and hopefully if any of his friends or relatives are trawling through various nrl forums online they are letting him know he has the best wishes of the nrl community.

 

[Suitman]

I don't think they intended to sensationalize the initial report, I think they just reported based on what most of us think of when we hear the words quad- or para- palegic based on our own precious understanding of it (kinda like on a less tragic level when Paul kent was talking about sandow earl's ped usage saying it wasn't the same as Ben Johnson taking ElephantJuice that made him run fast, but to rehabilitate an injury).

I don't think they made any jump to a conclusion that was further than most of us did.

In any case, I am pretty sure that everyone that follows nrl would be wishing him the best for a recovery and hopefully if any of his friends or relatives are trawling through various nrl forums online they are letting him know he has the best wishes of the nrl community.

I hope that this is the case.
The cynical me believes otherwise, considering the discussion that has already taken place.

Suity

 

[Eels Dude]

Hear hear!

I don't care what Fox sports or 9 may have said.
At the moment Alex & his family are facing a terrible diagnosis (hopefully only a temporary one)

My thoughts & best wishes go out to him & his loved ones.

As do I... though I think EELiminator made a good point in that any of his family members watching Channel 9 News or listened to Triple M didnt deserve to find out that way, especially since its not been confirmed and there's already been a few inaccuracies about the report. Thoughts with And his family, this is just tragic and horrible and I just hope he recovers.

 

[Poupou Escobar]

May I add, that when I heard this afternoon that Alex has/had been diagnosed quadriplegic, it just made me sad.
I can't believe there is any discussion about anything other than his condition, and the thoughts for him and his family.

Suity

There's nothing suitable that can be said about Alex McKinnon that doesn't sound trite and insincere. To be honest, I'm trying not to think about him because it makes me not want to watch footy ever again. I am gutted.

 

[Suitman]

The only positive thought I can take out of this situation at this stage is that the previous time something like this happened in the big league, it was John Farragher, a Panther, who went on to make a life for himself, in business.

I'm hoping that Alex gets through this and can at least live a life that he once knew, but if he can't, I hope he can draw inspiration from those who have before him suffered the same ill fate.

Suity

 

[Tony Bongo]

Im speechless, poor bugger has been diagnosed as quadriplegic

Makes footy seem so irrelevant



http://news.optuszoo.com.au/2014/03/31/report-mckinnon-diagnosed-quadriplegic/

Let's hope for his sake the diagnosis isn't permanent.
7 years ago I had a surfing incident where a guy weighing about 100 kgs dropped in on me, landed on my head and damaged 50% of my spinal chord at the same level C4/C5. The sclerosis I was left with lead to numbness in the whole left side of my body and would make me black out or sometimes lose function in my left leg and hand. I couldn't surf, work or run for over 8 months and although I still suffer some complications I recovered quite remarkably. I'm hoping for McKinnon's sake that he too recovers and the positive here is that like me his spinal chord is not severed, although clearly his condition is much more serious than mine was.
There are also holes in this report as a disc fusion involves the removal of the disc and an insertion of a small cage into which a piece of bone (the graft they are referring to) is placed which grows to 'fuse' onto the two vertebrae. It's the one surgery/procedure - not two as is being reported (from my understanding anyway).
Fingers crossed this report has been either misunderstood or sensationalized and that his condition is not as serious as we are being led to believe. Regardless I hope he has the inner strength and support he needs to help him get through whatever he is faced with right now.