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The story of 19-year-old Aishwarya Saini is a mixture of willpower, timely treatment, and miracle. A teen who suffered a “complete spinal cord injury” that left her bedridden her entire life has begun gaining sensation in her legs, which her doctors describe as a “rare event” and a “medical miracle”. Saini – based in Saharanpur, Uttar Pradesh – wanted to pursue a career in physiotherapy. However, in April of this year, she had a traumatic accident that left her bedridden.
“Alone at home with my grandfather, I found myself confronted by two masked men who tried to arrest me,” Saini told News18.
Desperate to escape, she runs up the stairs and calls for help. However, the criminals pushed her by force from the second floor, which caused her to fall and lead to a severe spinal injury. She suffered from paralysis below the rib cage.
The severity of a spinal cord injury is categorized as complete or incomplete.
An injury is described as “complete” when you lose all sensation (sensory) and all ability to control movement (motor function) under the spinal cord.
In a complete injury, the spinal cord—the communication pathway for transmitting messages between the brain and peripheral nerves and muscles—is completely severed.
The damage involved affects 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 cannot receive sensory signals from the body, and the body cannot receive motor signals from the brain.
According to the Atlanta-based spinal cord injury rehab center, the Shepard Center, in very rare cases, people with such trauma will regain some function years later.
Dr. H.S. Chhabra, who treated Saini, said that neurorevival is usually considered unlikely in cases of complete spinal cord injury (patients who do not feel or move below the level of injury) after 48 hours.
Seni’s case study is the story of her “willpower and timely medical interventions by a multidisciplinary team”.
The efforts, including comprehensive rehabilitation and counseling, enabled her neurological recovery, which showed up as late as a month after the injury.
Medical trip after the accident
“After evaluation, Aishwarya was diagnosed with a T12-L1 fracture dislocation with complete spinal cord injury,” Chhabra told News18.
The probable course of disease or outcome of treatment depends on any neurological recovery within 48 hours, particularly “perianal sensation and voluntary contraction of the anus”.
The crucial 48-hour mark passed without positive developments. Perianal sensation and voluntary anal contraction remained absent. “Without this recovery, the chances of recovery of the nervous system in the lower extremities are very slim,” said Chhabra, chief of spine surgery and rehabilitation at New Delhi-based Sri Balaji Action Medical Institute. “Unfortunately, these signs showed no improvement, indicating poor chances of neurological recovery in their lower extremities.”
Some evidence also suggests better outcomes with early intervention, Chhabra said the emergency surgery was performed on the same day.
The hospital performed an emergency surgery involving “T12-L1-L2 cervical IUD placement and same-day decompression” based on evidence of improved outcomes with early intervention.
Medical miracle
“Then a medical miracle happened,” said Shubra, recalling the morning when, during a routine examination, she felt sensations in her legs.
On June 2, Saini’s birthday, further evaluation revealed that she had regained sensation and voluntary anal contraction.
The team of doctors remains optimistic that Saini will make a full recovery in due course.
“Aishwarya’s case also indicates that people who use wheelchairs can lead active lives and achieve their dreams and goals,” Chhabra said in the hospital’s press release. “Aishwarya’s return to yoga even when she is paralyzed and in a wheelchair, is a typical example. She has lived up to the adage ‘Where there is a will, there is a way.’”
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