Paralyzed

I can't imagine they would have a lot of trouble, maybe a little. You can sit up using just your stomach muscles and arms to pull yourself up. It would require some work and constant effort to maintain the position, but it's not impossible.

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I imagine it would have to do a lot with exactly what their condition is, but I would imagine if everything else is reasonably stable that they could prop themselves back on their arms (imagine sitting in the sun in a park looking up at the sky) o.k. At least in an emergency situation.

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Participant since 2001 ~ Winner since 2002

they would most probably be fine without any back support.
if the injury was below waistline chances are with good physical rehab they could even walk with exoprosthetics (Braces that help block the hip on standing position) and canes.
initially people tend to seat leaning a little bit forward to keep balance, but is more because of fear than actual physical inability, also tend to place one or both hands on the sides of the seat to find more balance, because they loose some sense of "place" .

good luck with your patients!

I know a girl who was unfortunately in a terrible accident involving horses and a bunch of other stuff and...yeah. But anyways, she severed her spinal cord and is now paralyzed from the waist-down. Anyways, she received surgery that put metal pins in her spine so that she could sit up without something against her back.

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Good news! I was born partially paralyzed from the waist down, right at the fourth lumber. (So basically, just about as low on the spinal chord as you could possibly go.)

I sit up without pins or equipment with no trouble, *however,* I am prone to having a bit of trouble holding myself up at the sides and the back. Your character would most likely have a strong side and a weak side, my left is my weak side, so I tend to "lean" to the left when tired. I don't enjoy sitting on surfaces with no back or arms for long periods of time unless it's more like a bench, that I can brace myself with an arm. Also, I have an easier time sitting up with my legs are pointed down. If I'm sitting on the floor with my legs straight out I have a LOT of trouble staying upright without opening my legs in a Y. In sitting on the floor, I can't comfortable bend my legs at the knee and lean on a hip the way other girls do, or cross my ankles. An earlier poster is correct: I do use a lot of my stomach muscles to compensate for weaker or paralysed muscles further down my hips that would normally do that work.

Also, bladder and bowel incontinence may be a factor in paralysation. So are pressure sores (decubitus ulcers) if your character spends too much time sitting on a surface not suited to long sitting periods, because if he or she can't feel her posterior, she won't feel the pain that would normally let her know something's wrong and the skin is beginning to suffocate.

Those of us who have had pressure sores are actually taught by physical therapists to lift ourselves up (usually by our arms) at least three times each hour, for at least 30 seconds at a go, to relieve the pressure. Once you've had a pressure sore and the skin scars, the skin becomes weaker and more prone to more sores. YIKES.

I hope that helps!

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