GREAT NECK, NY -- Adrian Gordon, a 22-year-old former track star, was in total shock when he woke up in a bed at North Shore University Hospital in Manhasset, NY. Told that he had suffered severe spinal cord injury in a near-fatal car crash, he had no memory of being a passenger, or of being ejected out of the back window of his friend’s car.

“When I was told what had happened, I knew that I was just lucky to be alive,” said Mr. Gordon. “When I got to a certain point in my recovery, I was transferred to Southside Hospital for intensive therapy and rehabilitation. I thought I would never walk again. After months of hard work, I was able to walk out of the hospital on crutches. It was something I thought that I would never achieve, but I was determined and motivated to get moving again, just taking baby steps at first.”

In 1995, when actor Christopher Reeve fell off his horse at a riding competition, he was left paralyzed from the neck down because of his severely damaged spinal cord. Using his celebrity and advocacy for spinal cord injury research, he raised national awareness of the problem and increased research funding, until his death in 2004.

 While spinal cord injury is usually the result of an unexpected accident, some are at a higher risk of sustaining this injury than others. Young men between the ages of 16 and 30 are at highest risk of spinal injuries due to car crashes, which is the leading factor, followed by acts of violence, such as gunshot wounds, stabbings and assaults. Older adults, mostly those over age 60, are also at high risk due to falls.

Individuals active in sports and recreational activities account for more than eight 8 percent of the 11,000 spinal cord injuries in the United States every year. High-risk athletic activities include football, rugby, wrestling, gymnastics, diving, surfing, ice hockey and downhill skiing. Those with predisposing conditions who suffer relatively minor injuries are also at risk of spinal cord injury due to conditions that affect their joints or bones, such as osteoporosis and arthritis.

To learn more about spinal cord injury and rehabilitation, and about Mr. Gordon’s amazing perseverance and miraculous recovery, tune into Medical Update on Saturday, December 26 at 11 a.m. Guests include Adam Stein, MD, chairman of physical medicine and rehabilitation for the North Shore-LIJ Health System, and Lori Hochman, supervisor of rehabilitation services at Southside Hospital in Bay Shore, NY. Medical Update is broadcast on WLNY-TV, which can be seen on Channel 10 on Long Island Cablevision and Verizon FiOS TV, and on Channel 55 on Time Warner Cable, DirecTV and DishTV.  The full library of 100 Medical Update shows can also been accessed in the News portal of North Shore-LIJ’s web site – www.northshorelij.com