The Price of Walking

[gump]

i was watching tv the other night and ran across this special on stem cell research and how it was helping people with spinal cord injuries ( LINK ). being parayzled myself for the last 5 1/2 years i was excited. being able to walk again would to me just be a priceless event. i did some digging and from what i found the procedure and rehab is gonna cost between $150,000 - $200,000. even after theres no guarantee that it will work.

so i was just wondering what some others thought. is there a price for your walking ability? if you cant what would you pay to be able to again?

[k1ng]

If i was in your shoes, I would definately look into stem cell research. I would say that $150-200k is a very reasonable price to be able to walk again. However, I would also look into the success rates to be sure it's worth it.

I can't imagine taking any amount of money (short of several billion - then i'd think about it) to lose my ability to walk.
So I imagine that I would spend a great deal of money to try to get that ability back again.

Good luck with this...

[Averett]

God, that seems like such an unreal price tag. But it's well worth it. Hopefully within the next few years the research will get better and the prices will become lower.

Of course we have to get our dimwit president out of office in favor of somebody who supports stem cell research. /semi political rant

[moonstrucksoul]

that has got to be one of the tougest choices ever. that's alot of money. but to walk. . . and run. oh man, it sounds worth it. but i would want the success rate to be higher, before i would spend that much money. but that would depend on how much money I had, right now i can't afford to put new tires on a wheelchair.

[StephenSa]

I think you hit the nail on the head when you wrote "a priceless event". There is no financial price I wouldn't pay to be able to walk. I'm a big proponent of stem cell research and I think anyone that opposes ethical stem cell research should be strapped in a chair for a few years and see if they change their minds. I'm not usually so agressively one sided on issues but from the reading I've done I see no reason for this research not to continue forward full speed ahead and see if we can't give a few people the miracles they so desperately deserve.

[water_boy1999]

It wouldn't be a tough choice for me. I can't put a price on the ability to walk. It is one of the most precious, and probably the most taken for granted ability we have, until that ability is lost. I wish stem cell research develops into a full fledged medical practice because it could only help people, not hurt them. Averett and I could probably start a political rant as she mentioned but we'll just let that one be for now.

[Cynthetiq]

walking vs. being mobile....

so long as I was mobile, walking wouldn't be so much of an issue....

[ratbastid]

Originally posted by Averett
Hopefully within the next few years the research will get better and the prices will become lower.

Right and right. Part of the deal with treatments like this is that they do become more and more common-place and affordable.

If your prognosis is lifetime paralysis, and assuming you're fairly young, odds are good that experimental technologies and treatments will emerge and then become accessible to you. The question isn't really how much walking is worth. The question is, how long will it be before treatment is available, and how much is that time worth.

[Fenton-J-Cool]

Originally posted by k1ng

I can't imagine taking any amount of money (short of several billion - then i'd think about it) to lose my ability to walk.
So I imagine that I would spend a great deal of money to try to get that ability back again.

Good luck with this...

With the new money, just pay for the spinal repair procedure.

[shakran]

Well considering that to build a handicapped acessible house you're looking at a minimum of $150,000, and to get a decent wheelchair you're looking at a minimum of $15,000, and to get a van to haul the wheelchair around in you're looking at $40,000, and then you have to get a $3,000 lift, and after spending all that you can't go out on a hiking trail or even to a hotel (hint: Hotels that say they're handicapped accessible are full of shit - they almost never are accessible. Hint #2: A grab bar in the tub and a slightly raised toilet do not a handicapped accessible room make), yeah, I'd say that cost is well worth it.

[gump]

you said it right shakran....

i just order a new $8700 wheelchair, $1500 cushion so my but doesnt get sores, and $300 worth of medication a month. seems like if your sick or handicapp everything costs triple.

Originally posted by StephenSa
I'm a big proponent of stem cell research and I think anyone that opposes ethical stem cell research should be strapped in a chair for a few years and see if they change their minds. I'm not usually so agressively one sided on issues but from the reading I've done I see no reason for this research not to continue forward full speed ahead and see if we can't give a few people the miracles they so desperately deserve.

i couldnt agree more. i always have said to get stem cell research to move on its going to take a president's child to be paralyzed or come down with a disease that stem cells could cure.

[minyn]

i cant imagine not being able to walk, run, whatever. im considerably athletic and if i never knew what it was like i'd want it and if i had the capability once i think i'd go nuts without it. its your money, its your life, i'd think it was but it woudl be painful either way.