The device, called an epidural spine stimulator, was implanted in the men as part of a study undertaken by the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) and the University of Louisville.

One of the patients in the study, Kent Stephenson, is from Mount Pleasant, Texas. At 21, he was involved in a motocross accident that left him without sensation or motor control from the chest down. Today, he can move his legs, stand on his own and distinguish between types of touch. In addition, he has regained sexual function, bowel control and bladder control.

In a video documenting his progress, Stephenson told the camera, “I feel like we’ve conquered a lot of things people thought were impossible.”

Only four men were involved in this study — meaning that so far, the success rate is 100 percent. A researcher told USA Today that it was too early to determine how effective the treatment would be for the general population.

Still, all four of the men had complete spinal cord injuries, and today all four are able to move their legs. One of the researchers behind the project was quoted as saying, “The belief that no recovery is possible and complete paralysis is permanent has been challenged.”

An article from CNN emphasized that the recovery of sexual function and bowel and bladder control are especially significant for many people who are paralyzed. According to the CNN report, a survey showed that regaining these functions was more important to most paralyzed people than regaining the ability to walk.

According to a news release from UCLA, nearly 1.3 million Americans suffer some form of paralysis associated with a spinal cord injury.  

The study was funded in part by Christopher and Dana Reeve Foundation, named for the deceased Superman actor Christopher Reeve, who was paralyzed nearly 20 years ago after an equestrian accident.

At The Hale Law Firm, we have helped thousands of clients successfully prosecute their personal injury claims including auto accidents, wrongful death, dangerous products, brain injuries, burn injuries, and defective medical devices. Clients depend on their personal injury lawyers for guidance and legal advice across a broad range of personal injury accidents. To learn more, visit http://www.hale911.com/ or call 972.351.0000.

Kristina Derro
Veteran Advocate

 This is just disgraceful.  CNN has been reporting for months on the extended delays for health care appointments suffered by veterans across the country and who died while waiting.

 However, new revelations of secret lists and shredded evidence show that long-waits could be just the tip of the iceberg. At least 40 veterans died waiting for appointments at the Phoenix Veterans Affairs Health Care system, many of whom were placed on a secret waiting list.

This secret list was devised as part of an elaborate scheme by the VA managers in Phoenix who were trying to hide that 1,400 to 1,600 sick veterans were forced to wait months to see a doctor, according to reports from CNN.

Dr. Sam Foote, who just retired after 24 years with the Phoenix VA, said in an exclusive interview with CNN that, “The scheme was deliberately put in place to avoid the VA’s own internal rules.”

Foote said that there’s an “official” list the VA shared with officials in Washington that shows that they were providing timely appointments, which Foote calls the “sham list.” Then, there’s a real list that’s kept secret, where wait times can last more than one year.

Internal e-mails obtained by CNN show that top management at the VA hospital in Arizona knew about the practice and even defended it.

Meanwhile, veterans languish and many are dying while waiting on this secret list.

The VA requires its hospitals to provide care to patients in a timely manner, typically within 14 to 30 days. So instead of entering veterans’ doctor’s appointments into the computer system, Foote said, staff were instructed to enter appointment information, take a screenshot and print a hard copy, and then not save the appointment.

It’s as if the veteran was never there. According to Foote, the scheme in Phoenix also involved shredding evidence to hide the long list of veterans waiting for appointments and care.

“That hard copy, if you will, that has the patient demographic information is then taken and placed onto a secret electronic waiting list, and then the data that is on that paper is shredded,” Foote said.

The only record of veterans having been to the VA was on that secret waiting list, Foote says. And veterans would not be taken off that secret list until they had an appointment time that was within the 14 day timeframe for timely care, giving the appearance that the Phoenix VA’s wait times were greatly improving.

CNN also obtained e-mails from July 2013 showing that top management, including Phoenix VA Director Sharon Helman, was well-aware about the actual wait times, knew about the secret electronic list, and even defended its use to her staff.

In one internal Phoenix VA e-mail dated July 3, 2013, one staffer raised concerns about the secret electronic list and raised alarms that Phoenix VA officials were praising its use. The email reads:

“I have to say, I think it’s unfair to call any of this a success when Veterans are waiting 6 weeks on an electronic waiting list before they’re called to schedule their first PCP (primary care physician) appointment. Sure, when their appointment is created, it can be 14 days out, but we’re making them wait 6-20 weeks to create that appointment.”

The e-mail pointedly adds: “That is unethical and a disservice to our Veterans.”

And what is the VA’s response to all of this? A whole lot of nothing. CNN was sent the following statement from VA officials in Texas, quoting Sharon Helman:

“It is disheartening to hear allegations about Veterans care being compromised, and we are open to any collaborative discussion that assists in our goal to continually improve patient care.”

With the Phoenix VA’s secret list now catching the attention of representatives in Washington, the “collaborative discussion” referenced in Helman’s statement may transform into a full-blown congressional investigation.

Representative Jeff Miller, chairman of the House Veterans Affairs Committee, has been investigating delays in veterans’ care across the country. In an April 9 hearing, Rep. Miller learned that even the assistant deputy undersecretary of the Veterans Health Administration wasn’t being told the truth about the secret list and was never aware of its existence.

Congress has now ordered that all records in Phoenix, secret or not, be preserved in anticipation for a congressional investigation.

To read more on this issue, check out CNN’s report: http://www.cnn.com/2014/04/23/health/veterans-dying-health-care-delays

Legal Help for Veterans, PLLC fights for veterans rights. We fight to make sure you get the benefits you deserve from the Department of Veterans Affairs. To learn more or contact an attorney about your Post Traumatic Stress, Traumatic Brain Injury, Mental Health, Sexual Assault, Hearing Loss and Tinnitus, Total Disability Based on Individual Unemployability, Medical Malpractice, or Aid and Attendance claim, visit http://www.legalhelpforveterans.com/ or call 800.693.4800

In a recent CNN.com op-ed, Pepper Schwartz attempts to answer the question, “Why are baby boomers so divorce-prone?” Schwartz, a sociology professor at the University of Washington and a senior fellow at the Council on Contemporary Families, has some interesting ideas.

Essentially, Schwartz’s argument is that baby boomers are creating new norms for middle and late-middle age simply because they have done so for every other stage of their lives; they have always approached the status quo critically. As young adults, many took part in strong movements for change, from war protest to civil, women’s, and gay rights.

Boomers have challenged any number of norms in domestic life. Baby boomer women had more romantic partners and many, many more employment opportunities than previous generations. The generation led a reexamination of the necessity of marriage and the qualities of a good one. However, many individuals addressed these ideas after getting married themselves, and a skyrocketing divorce rate in the 60s and 70s followed.

Now, Schwartz says, boomers are doing away with tradition again. They are living longer and staying employed later than their parents did. And many regard their 50s and 60s as just as rich in opportunity for love and new experiences as their 20s and 30s were.

Schwartz theorizes that younger adults of Generation X will not follow in the footsteps of the boomers, and will instead usher in a lower divorce rate. Today’s younger adults often come from divorced families, and they are keen to avoid the same fate for their own children. A Pew Research study shows a full two thirds of boomers would prefer to divorce rather than stay in an unhappy marriage; only 54 percent of younger adults hold the same view. Next, Generation X-ers marry later, when they are more mature, financially stable, and experienced in relationships. And finally, many have already experienced economic and financial turmoil in their adulthoods, unlike many boomers. These experiences have led them to place great emphasis on sticking together for economic security.

As individuals in successive generations rethink what love and family mean for them, it is fascinating to watch individual choices coalesce into immense and lasting demographic shifts.

Alston & Baker, an Affiliation of Professional Associations: The Law Office of Robert C. Alston, Esq., P.A. and The Law Office of Marcie L. Baker, Esq., P.A. To contact a Zephyrhills divorce lawyer call 1.888.500.5245 or visit http://www.alstonbakerlaw.com.

If a prenup is controversial, then a postnuptial agreement, or “postnup,” could be even more so. But it does not have to carry a negative connotation any more than a prenup. A postnup serves the same purpose as a prenup, but it is an agreement entered into by a couple that are already married. It can contain all the same arrangements, and like prenups, postnups are gaining in popularity.

There are many reasons why you and your spouse might want a postnup. Perhaps you considered a prenup, but did not get around to it before the wedding. Or maybe the thought of a prenup did not occur to you, or you thought you disliked the idea but had a change of heart. Also, a postnup may be advisable if one or both parties inherit or expect to inherit significant assets. Inheritances are usually considered separate property anyway, but a prenup or postnup can make that crystal clear.

A postnuptial can also bring a measure of peace to a marriage full of conflict. A recent CNN report told the story of a Boston couple who had ongoing disagreements about money. He took on large amounts of debt to grow his consulting business, which kept her up nights worrying what would happen if the business failed. They agreed to put the house in her name and split the mortgage and other expenses, quelling her fears and bringing peace to their relationship.

Postnups may become even more common soon in the wake of the Supreme Court decision that struck down part of DOMA. That ruling invalidates the portion of the law that denied federal benefits to legally married same-sex couples. When those couples suddenly find themselves in new and different financial circumstances, they may want to make new legal agreements to account for those changes.

No one plans to divorce, and no one wants to spend time, money, and energy in a drawn-out court battle. But those are exactly the situations in which many couples find themselves today. A prenuptial or postnuptial agreement prevents a great deal of conflict and can even strengthen a marriage.

Alston & Baker, an Affiliation of Professional Associations: The Law Office of Robert C. Alston, Esq., P.A. and The Law Office of Marcie L. Baker, Esq., P.A. To contact a Zephyrhills divorce lawyer call 1.888.500.5245 or visit http://www.alstonbakerlaw.com.