Author's Note - I cannot take credit for the content and ideas discussed in my prologue, as I adapted a news article I found online: https/news./content/2017/03/24/biomedical-engineering-graduate-students-receive-spinal-cord-injury-fellowships

This story is a very-distant extension of the canon, including a few (minor) original characters from my story, Never Going Back Again. Enjoy!

The Spinal Cord Injury Research Board (SCIRB) is pleased to announce the beginning of phase 3 of clinical trials for an innovative, minimally-invasive drug therapy, designed to benefit individuals who suffer from acute spinal cord injury (SCI), many of whom live with permanent paralysis as a result of the injury.

In 2022, doctoral students in biomedical engineering at Cornell University, Arthur "Artie" Abrams and Nathaniel Hopkins, introduced "Magnetic Alignment of Electrospun Fibers for Treatment of Acute Spinal Cord Contusive Injury."

Since that time, Phases 1 and 2 of clinical trials have shown that it is possible to inject these magnetic fibers into the spinal cord, then move and realign them with an external magnetic field, thereby repopulating the injury site with healthy cells over time.

Abrams, who was injured himself in an accident at the age of 8, is scheduled to undergo the treatment during phase 3 clinical trials. If successful, Abrams explains that he should be able to wear an external brace containing the a powerful magnet, which then fits to the internal magnetic fibers. The goal is for Abrams to walk with minimal assistance, such as crutches, although he says he cannot predict the time frame for these events. "I'm 45 years old now," he explains. "We did have a patient who had been injured for over twenty years, in a phase 2 trial. This man has shown a more promising recovery than ever thought possible before now. He currently walks with minimal aids and assistance, just one year following the procedure. I'm hoping to do the same thing myself."

Each year, approximately 1,000 New York residents suffer traumatic spinal cord injuries, joining the nearly 282,000 people living in the United States with paralysis. The New York State Spinal Cord Injury Research Board was created in 1998 to support neurological spinal cord injury scientific research projects from leading researchers within New York state to find a cure for spinal cord injuries.