The tale of 19-year-old Aishwarya Saini is a combination of willpower, timely treatment, and a miracle. A teenager who suffered a ‘complete spinal cord injury’ rendering her bedridden for the entirety of her life has started to gain sensation in her legs, which her doctors describe as a “rare occurrence” and a “medical miracle”. Saini–a resident of Saharanpur, Uttar Pradesh–wanted to pursue her career in naturopathy. However, in April this year, she experienced a traumatising incident that made her bedridden.
“Alone at home with my grandfather, I found myself confronted by two masked men who attempted to apprehend me,” Saini told News18.
In a desperate attempt to escape, she ran up the stairs and called out for help. However, the criminals forcibly pushed her from the second floor, causing a fall that resulted in a severe spinal injury. She suffered paralysis below the ribcage.
The severity of the spinal cord injury is classified as complete or incomplete.
The injury is labelled as “complete” when all feeling (sensory) and all ability to control movement (motor function) are lost below the spinal cord.
In complete injury, the spinal cord–which is the communication pathway to transmit messages between the brain, the peripheral nerves, and the muscles–is completely severed.
The damage incurred impacts all neural pathways below the point of injury, causing a blockade where signals are unable to pass through the damaged neurons in the spinal cord. As a result, the brain is unable to receive sensory signals from the body, and the body is unable to receive motor signals from the brain.
According to the Atlanta-based rehabilitation facility for spinal cord injuries, Shepherd Centre, in very rare cases, people with such trauma will regain some functioning years later.
Dr HS Chhabra, who treated Saini, said neurological revival is typically considered improbable in cases of complete spinal cord injuries (patients with no sensation or movement below the level of injury) after 48 hours.
Saini’s case study is a story of her “willpower and the timely medical interventions by the multidisciplinary team”.
The efforts, including comprehensive rehabilitation and counselling, made her neurological recovery possible, which manifested as late as one month after the injury.
Post-accident medical journey
Chhabra told News18 that “upon evaluation, Aishwarya was diagnosed with a fracture dislocation T12-L1 with complete spinal cord injury”.
The likely course of disease or treatment outcome depends on any neurological recovery within 48 hours, particularly “perianal sensation and voluntary anal contraction”.
“The critical 48-hour mark passed without positive developments. Perianal sensation and voluntary anal contraction remained absent. Without such recovery, the chances of neurological restoration in the lower limbs are extremely slim,” said Chhabra, chief of spine surgery and rehabilitation at New Delhi-based Sri Balaji Action Medical Institute. “Unfortunately, these signs did not show any improvement, indicating slim chances of neurological restoration in her lower limbs.”
As some evidence suggests improved outcomes with early intervention, Chabbra said that urgent surgery was performed on the same day.
The hospital performed urgent surgery involving “T12-L1-L2 pedicle screw fixation and decompression on the same day” based on evidence of improved outcomes with early intervention.
Medical miracle
“Then a medical miracle happened,” Chabbra said while recalling the morning when on routine check-up they found sensations in her legs.
On June 2, which was Saini’s birthday, further evaluation revealed that she had recovered sensation and voluntary anal contraction.
The team of doctors remains optimistic that Saini will make a full recovery in due course of time.
“Aishwarya’s case also indicates that people in wheelchairs can pursue an active life and their dreams and goals,” Chabbra said in the press release issued by the hospital. “Aishwarya getting back to yoga even when paralysed and in a wheelchair, is a typical example. She has lived up to the dictum ‘Where there is a will, there is a way’.”
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