Nerve transfer restores hand function, elbow extension in paralyzed patients
Frankly, as somebody with 2 rare autoimmune nerve diseases (affecting my peripheral nervous system), who is disabled, I am not excited about this news.<p>Do they have any sort of residual neuropathic pain, either from their injury or the procedure? What sort of functional limitations do they have? Did their autonomic dysfunction improve (extremely unlikely to improve with a nerve transfer procedure, as described above)? Etc., etc.<p>I am sure this is more heartwarming than anything else. I am perfectly OK with being disabled, and I just wish society would accept us for who we are (as disabled people). I am tired of people in tech posting &quot;inspirational&quot; stories in general about &quot;overcoming disabilities&quot; or &quot;making our lives better&quot; (because &quot;we suffer so much&quot;), without any sort of interview or input from the disabled person. We are always portrayed as objects, and are never at the center of the story, and if we are, we are still the object because it is about making a gerry-rigged mobility device with a high school robotics team with Home Depot materials because our insurance refused to pay for something medically necessary.<p>The most famous example of a &quot;heartwarming story&quot; about the disabled is wheelchairs that climb stairs (that probably are not safe to use in the rain or on carpeted stairs), that cost tens of thousands of dollars and have huge design constraints  (which are almost never mentioned). Plus, if you knew how US insurance reimbursed wheelchairs (which should be classified as a prosthetic device, versus an orthotic device), you would be absolutely appalled. I would not hold my breath on insurance reimbursement for a procedure like nerve transfer anytime soon, either.<p>To me, this is another variant of techno-ableism: <a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;techanddisability.com&#x2F;2017&#x2F;11&#x2F;11&#x2F;technoableism-cyborg-bodies-and-mars&#x2F;" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;techanddisability.com&#x2F;2017&#x2F;11&#x2F;11&#x2F;technoableism-cybor...</a>