Hanging by a Thread

A healthy young athlete and scholar, Ron Hull’s life changed drastically at 20 years of age. A myelogram showed that exploratory surgery was needed to correct a neurological problem in his neck. During the surgery on December 9, 1963, an accidental anesthetic overdose caused Ron's blood pressure to drop, with the emergency response and spinal hemorrhaging partially paralyzing his arms and hands.


After five weeks in the hospital, and nine months at home, contemplating his future, Ron received a stainless steel handsplint for his right hand so that he could write again and some federally funded rehabilitation money to return to college. Ron did not know at that time that his return to independence would only be the beginning of a lifelong struggle of 50 years where his paralysis would gradually become worse until he was forced to hire attendants and get into an electric wheelchair after 30 years of walking and passing for normal. Four diagnostic studies at top medical centers finally determined the cause of the deterioration to be neuron loss from aging of the remaining spinal cord Ron had left--there was no cure.


With every obstacle Ron faced, there seemed to be a new technology--he calls it, "just in time technology"--that Ron could use to overcome the problem, enabling him to work a normal career until he was 69 and stay healthy, much healthier than his contemporaries. This book is his story of overcoming and staying positive regardless of the odds against him. After writing this story for 21 years, Ron is finally revealing it.