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The Atlanta-Journal Constitution featured a long article today on former WCW World champion Lex Luger and his continued therapy to overcome paralysis.
"I was one of the strongest guys on the planet," Luger told the newspaper. "I was freaky strong before. I was bench-pressing 450 pounds my senior year of high school. I was a freak. Now I can't lift a one-pound dumbbell....But God tells me that mind, body and spirit and what we are as a man is measured not by our physical strength, but our inner strength."
Luger now lives across the street from the Shepherd Center in Atlanta, where he is undergoing regular therapy. His paralysis has been diagnosed due to a swelling of the spine from all the damage he's had inflicting upon it during years of professional wrestling and football prior to becoming a wrestler. As the swelling has subsided, he's regained some motor functions and is able to stand for periods, using a walker to walk and maneuver. At other times, he's forced to use a motorized wheelchair to travel.
The article noted that Luger's problems began while flying to San Francisco (for the infamous Cow Palace wrestling convention that ended up being a massive disaster), experiencing pain during the flight. Luger, believing he was sore from sitting in an awkward position, "tried to jar his neck back into place, only to make his predicament worse", according to the article. By the next morning, he was paralyzed from the neck down.
While Luger's health has improved, a complete recovery is a "longshot", according to Dr. Gerald Bilsky, Luger's physician and Sheperd's medical director for outpatient services.
In the meantime, Luger is a regular daily visitor at the Sheperd Center, mentoring other patients and helping their family deal with the new reality of their lives. The article features comments from Steve "Sting" Borden about Luger changing into someone who tries to help others. It was noted that while Luger was incarcerated, he turned to religion to change his life.
To read the complete article, click here.
Thanks to David Jakielo for sending the article along.
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