A story on today’s Pittsburgh Trib news site provides an update on the story of Dr. Jim Childs, the Kittanning, Pa., pathologist who experienced a life-changing fall several years ago. On April 7, 2007, he slipped and fell down a 250-foot cliff. Since then, he has been confined to a wheelchair. Childs, a leading layman in the Grace Brethren Church of West Kittaning (Larry Edwards, pastor), has continued to lead an active life and is now in need of a standing wheelchair. This article not only shares an update on Dr. Childs’ story, but details the need for this vital piece of equipment. A portion of the article appears below. Click here to read the complete story.
Standing wheelchair would improve family’s quality of life
EAST FRANKLIN — Six years ago, Dr. James Childs, an ACMH Hospital pathologist, plunged 250 feet over a cliff along Route 268 near Butler Road when the ground gave way under his feet.
He survived the fall, but he was left with a severe spinal cord injury.
Since then, Childs has lived his life in a wheelchair as a quadriplegic.
But he and his family hope that may not always be the case. They believe he has a chance to one day walk again.
According to his doctors, Childs’ spinal cord was never severed, said his wife, Rose Anne.
“They say his spinal cord is in shock, that it’s an incomplete injury,” she said. “They tell him to keep his muscles up through therapy and by riding a bike.”
Family members purchased a Functional Electrical Stimulation bike for Childs, who had been an avid cyclist before being injured at the age of 58.
He has continued with an innovative type of therapy known as the Brucker Method of biofeedback, which his daughter, Lynn Nelson, said caused an increase in nerve activity in his legs.