A young barber was a picture of health when he went to sleep one night five years ago only to wake up paralyzed from the chest down and on the verge of death.
Carlo Onorato, an avid footballer from Adelaide, was only twenty years old when he was suddenly stricken with transverse myelitis – a rare disease that causes severe inflammation in the spinal cord.
The disease has no cure, strikes spontaneously and can cause permanent disability, and in November 2018 changed the course of Mr. Onorato’s life forever.
Hairdresser Carlo Onorato (above) from Adelaide suddenly developed transverse myelitis, which left him paralyzed overnight five years ago
Before his hospitalization, Mr. Onorato (above) was a talented hairdresser and a passionate football player
Now at 25 years old and C6 paralyzed, Mr. Onorato has opened up about the day-to-day problems he faces while hoping that one day he can enjoy some of the things he once did.
He said that the night he got sick he woke up because he had to go to the toilet, but he couldn’t move his legs.
“I was in pain and I didn’t know what was happening – it was just a bang, I woke up and I was paralyzed,” he said. The advertiser.
He was immediately rushed to hospital in the middle of the night and put into an induced coma.
The onset of his transverse myelitis caused a series of serious complications that required emergency surgery.
His chances of survival seemed so bleak that his family was told to say goodbye.
“I can’t imagine how hard it would have been for my mother and (two older) brothers to see their son and younger brother go through this, especially since it came out of nowhere,” he said.
Fortunately, Mr. Onorato’s condition improved after a month in intensive care and he was transferred to the general ward where he underwent several months of treatment.
He then spent nine months in a rehabilitation program and underwent several surgeries.
Mr Onorato said the reality of his paralysis only dawned on him after he left hospital.
“I didn’t really understand that this is my life now, I’m paralyzed. I still had in my mind that I was going to go hiking in a few weeks or months,” he said.
Transverse myelitis interrupts the messages that the spinal cord nerves send throughout the body, paralyzing him from the chest down in Mr. Onorato’s case.
The rare neurological condition can develop after viral and bacterial infections, but sometimes there is no known cause.
Mr Onorato (above) said he often denied being paralyzed while being treated in hospital
Now Mr. Onorato is trying to get a part of his life back, despite being in constant pain and unable to resume his work.
Some patients with transverse myelitis regain partial or full use of their limbs.
Mr. Onorato said he recently got his driver’s license back and is moving into a new apartment.
He still hopes that one day he will be able to walk and move like he did when he was twenty.
Transverse myelitis is believed to affect between 20 and 50 Australians each year.
Ryan O’Hare Doig of the South Australian Health and Medical Research Institute is conducting three studies that aim to better predict the long-term effects of spinal cord injury.
He said he considers Mr Onorato an “inspiration” for raising awareness of how spinal injuries can come on suddenly.
For Spinal Cord Injury Awareness Week, which begins Monday, the SAHMRI is seeking donations to fund spinal cord research.
Visit sahmri.au/NSCDonate or email fundraising@sahmri.com to donate.
Mr Onorato (pictured playing football before his hospitalization) said his dream is to ‘pick up my niece and nephew and play with them in the backyard’