Won’t Lyena recover if she just keeps working at it?
Not necessarily. Spinal cord injuries aren’t like other kinds of injuries. If, for instance, Lyena had merely broken her back without damaging her cord, she may have faced a long and painful rehabilitation, but over time, the bones would heal, the muscles would get stronger and with concerted effort, she would recover. But the cells in the central nervous system are different. They don’t always heal. And there are many normal, physiological factors present in the spinal column that actually impede the healing process. The majority of people with spinal cord injuries never recover. Many people with “incomplete” injuries and a few people with “complete” injuries experience some return of feeling or movement, but full recovery is very rare. Regardless, Lyena believes that a full recovery is possible and has dedicated herself to this effort.
