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by Tiffiny Carlson, Executive Director of SPINALpedia
A spinal cord injury can mentally crumble you or it can challenge you to greatness, and the latter has been the case for Jerod Nieder. Paralyzed since 2011, he’s been on a mission to uncover the healing that’s possible after a spinal cord injury and he is a participant at the University of Louisville at Frazier Rehab, the birthplace of epidural stimulation.
Read on for the backstory of an epic SCI survivor.
Why He’s Fearless
A quick dive in December 2011 after arriving with his family to their favorite Mexican resort is all it took for Jerod’s life to change forever. Diagnosed a C5 complete quadriplegic and given a grim diagnosis on the prospect of his mobility, he was on a mission to prove his doctors wrong. He was 28 and determined to be in control of his future.
After Jerod and his mother scoured the web and beyond for treatments that could help him, they came across the spinal cord injury research happening at the University of Louisville, spearheaded by Dr. Susan Harkema, that was making waves across the world and still is today for their epidural stimulation that has helped people with complete injuries regain movement in their paralyzed limbs.
Jerod completed physical rehabilitation and returned home. He was determined to become a participant at the University of Louisville’s research program, but wasn’t accepted right away due to a spinal anomaly. The wait however was not long however. After a handful of months, Jerod was accepted and underwent surgery in October 2015 for the epidural simulator.
Although participants are not able to walk completely on their own after the procedure, for people like Jerod, they’ve seen life-changing improvements in strength, bowel/bladder, sexual function, spasticity and overall health. He was even able to take up handcycling in 2019 and completed the New York City Marathon in 2021 (with no e-assist). For a C5 complete quadriplegic, that is a massive feat.
And his personal life has also been noteworthy. After falling in love with his caregiver Hanna, they married in 2022. They frequently share their life together on social media to inspire.
What’s Next?
A lifelong athlete before, Jerod also became an adaptive fitness instructor post-injury. His classes, “Positively Fit After Paralysis,” instruct people who use wheelchairs various ways to exercise and build up their cardio and muscle strength.
Jerod also shares his everyday life on social media, showing the world what’s possible after a spinal cord injury. And since he’s helped so many people over the years, Jerod now offers a variety of services, from consulting services such as caregiving assistance, universal design for business, smart home design, advocacy assistance, from adaptive fitness training to advocating for accessibility in the community, and travel assistance, such as educating people with disabilities on what they need to know to travel.
Jerod & Hanna
ideas@spinalpedia.com
