Courier News by Jeff Weber
SOMERVILLE, New Jersey, January 23, 2010
“Many people draw their first breath only once in life – when they are born. Edward Silcox is fortunate enough to have drawn it twice. Silcox, 51, has been primarily “ventilator-dependent” for the past 18 months since a motorcycle in June 2008 almost killed him and left him paralyzed from the neck down.”
“That means that Silcox hasn’t been able to breathe on his own according to Dr. Matthew Kaufman…and has needed constant care from his wife, Johanna, and a cadre of nurses.”
“Silcox wasn’t expected to live, and was told he was unlikely to ever breathe again without a ventilator…Silcox took his second “first breath” Friday when Kaufman activated a diaphragm pacemaker that had been implanted in Silcox’s body during a Dec. 29 operation at the hospital.”
“The transmitter…generates a series of impulses sent by antenna through the skin as a radio wave. That was key for Silcox who, according to his wife, no longer wanted wires coming out of his body.”
“Silcox smiled almost immediately after the ventilator was removed and the pacemaker started doing its job.”
Further information about Dr. Kaufman can be found at the Institute for Advanced Reconstruction. The article can be viewed in its entirety by clicking here.
