There is an interesting take below from Political Dissent on Red Robin #15 (a book which I quite liked).
Here’s what was shared at the Political Dissent site on this book:
[Image from Red Robin #15]
I’ve got a few concerns with the hospital spokesman’s statement:
First, depending on the person, the human spinal cord ends somewhere between the first and second lumbar vertebrae. There is no spinal cord to get nicked at the level of the third lumbar vertebra. True, there are several spinal nerves remaining in the spinal canal at that level, and they can certainly be injured, but there is no spinal cord.
I suspect that what Nicieza meant was that Tim suffered an injury at the third lumbar segment of the spinal cord. An injury at this level would be consistent with the lower extremity muscle weakness he demonstrates later. However, since the adult spinal cord is much shorter than the spinal column, the third lumbar segment of the spinal cord is actually found several levels higher than the third lumbar vertebra. I know it’s confusing, but no one ever said human anatomy made sense (and if it did, my first year of medical school would have been a great deal more fun).
Second, if Tim’s spinal cord (or spinal nerves) were just nicked along the left side, why is he wearing braces on both of his legs?
(Third, and this is truly a nit-pick: it should be third lumbar vertebra. Vertebrae is plural.)
