BCIR for Bowel Program Maintenance with Spinal Cord Injury
A 3-month post-surgery video update on how the BCIR (Barnett Continent Intestinal Reservoir) surgery has given me the ability to independently do my bowel program for the first time in 29 years.
Maintaining Your Health after Spinal Cord Injury
Weight, nutrition and diet, and exercise are important factors to consider in maintaining our health with a spinal cord injury. Doctors can examine the status of our health through measuring our weight, blood pressure, A1C and cholesterol levels and blood glucose levels. It’s a good idea to talk with your
BCIR Update #7
A lot has happened since my last update. I flew home. Then less than two weeks later I flew back to Florida.
BCIR Update #6
I’m home. I’m on IV antibiotics and had a scary run-in with sepsis the last week. But I’m home.
My Most Valuable “Asset”: 7 Tips to Prevent Pressure Sores
Butt. Tush. Rear end. Trasero. Heine. Pompes. You name it, my derriere has been called it. I’ve learned several tips to prevent pressure sores on my most valuable asset. My first pressure sore It was during my first semester of grad school that I had my first run-in with a
BCIR Update #5
I started to write this update 10 days ago. It began: “I’m dressed. I transferred into my chair. I’ve been spending about 45 minutes twice a day outside here in Florida’s fresh, breezy warm air. But Thursday or Friday will be the true test: I will begin intubating (using the
BCIR Update #4
I had not expected this update to be written from a hospital bed. I “should have been” discharged last week and back at home. Instead I had surgery for a fistula on Sunday.
BCIR Update #3
Well, I knew when I decided to have this procedure there were risks of complications. Unfortunately, I’m one of the people to develop a fistula. A fistula is a small hole. Mine is located near the top of the pouch and leads to the surface of the skin. When a
BCIR Update #2
I thought I knew what I was getting myself in to. And yet… This is so much harder than I ever imagined.
BCIR Update #1
Due to overwhelming support, but inadequate energy, here’s a brief overview of my BCIR journey so far. BCIR is an internal continent catheterizable colostomy with no external appliances like a colostomy or iliostomy. Go to www.bcir.com for more info on the procedure and here for my journey on the decision.
Jenny Smith
After a spinal cord injury at 16, I discovered that a wheelchair could take me places I never dared to imagined.
Follow Me
Videos
How I Can Tweeze My Eyebrows as a Quad
What is a pressure sore? (Video)
Quadly Cooking: Middle Eastern Chili (Video)
How Does a Quad Put in Contacts?
Get travel tips FREE!
Receive a PDF copy of 10 Tips for Traveling with a Disability when you subscribe to my monthly newsletter.