Man left paralyzed at 19 drives car again for first time
Courtesy Ryley Hopper
(NEW YORK) — A man who was left paralyzed after diving into a swimming pool as a teenager was recently able to drive again for the first time, eight years after his injury.
Ryley Hopper, 27, got behind the wheel of a specially equipped van on Aug. 14, his first time driving since he was paralyzed from the chest down at the age of 19.
“It’s a very empowering, independent thing,” Hopper told ABC News’ Good Morning America, about reclaiming the freedom to drive again. “I wanted to want something … to find a purpose to attack head on.”
Hopper was a college freshman at the University of North Carolina Wilmington and enjoying a summer swim in his friend’s pool in 2016 when he flipped into the shallow end, hit the bottom and lost consciousness.
His friend, trained as a lifeguard, performed CPR on Hopper to keep him stable until the ambulance arrived.
The accident left Hopper with a life-altering C5-C7 spinal cord injury that resulted in paralysis from the chest down.
He spent nearly a month at Duke University Hospital, including four days in a medically induced coma, before being transferred to the Shepherd Center in Atlanta for two months of intensive inpatient rehabilitation.
“In the beginning, I was figuring out what the future would look like … my first goal was to get back to school,” said Hopper, who prioritized returning to UNCW the following fall semester to complete his undergraduate and graduate finance degrees.
With his mother as his caretaker and a supportive community behind him, a couple years after entering the workforce, Hopper said he was ready to “attack this driving thing … and be more in control of my life.”
“It took a while to reset my mindset,” he said, but “minutes after being in the car, the butterflies went away.”
Hopper attributes spending time outside as a factor in his post-injury progress, and for him, driving is an extension of that.
“A lot of healing is done indoors — in and out of physicians’ offices — and the natural world isn’t always accessible,” said Hopper, who said he aspires to one day create a space for people with disabilities to participate in accessible outdoor activities and reconnect with nature.
When setting spinal cord injury recovery milestones, Hopper also underscores the importance of mental health and striving for personal growth.
“I’ve been given a unique perspective because of my injury, and I wouldn’t be where I am today if it wasn’t for the struggle I’ve been through,” he said.
For others dealing with a spinal cord injury, Hopper reminded them to not forget to find the silver lining.
“Find peace and serenity,” he said. “Once you realize that you’re in a position that grants you a unique perspective on life … it’s a kind of superpower in itself.”
(NEW YORK) — A new study suggests that GLP-1 agonist medications like Ozempic, which are used for diabetes management and weight loss, may help reduce the risk of overdose and alcohol intoxication in people with substance use disorders.
“It helps to underline another significant benefit of this class of medication,” Dr. Angela Fitch, the co-founder, and chief medical officer of knownwell, a company that provides weight-inclusive health care, told ABC News.
The large study, published in the journal, Addiction, analyzed the health records of 1.3 million people from 136 U.S. hospitals for nearly nine years. That included the records of 500,000 people with opioid use and more than 800,000 with alcohol use disorder.
Those who took Ozempic or a similar drug had a 40% lower chance of overdosing on opioids and a 50% lower chance of getting drunk compared to those who didn’t take the medication, the study found.
“The existing medications for treating substance use disorder are underutilized and stigmatized,” said Fares Qeadan, associate professor of biostatistics at Loyola University in Chicago. “These medications intended for diabetes and weight loss can help addiction without the associated stigma, which will be a new window for how to deal with addiction.”
The protective effects were consistent and even applied to people with Type 2 diabetes, obesity, or both conditions.
Fitch expressed optimism about the study’s results.
“As clinicians, recognizing that people can get double benefits from something is always helpful and as more obesity medications enter the market, this can help personalize treatments,” she said.
GLP-1 drugs, such as Ozempic and the combination drug tirzepatide also included in the study, mimic a natural hormone known as glucagon-like peptide-1 to help regulate blood sugar and insulin levels. For managing obesity and diabetes, these medications work by slowing digestion, reducing appetite, and enhancing insulin release in response to meals.
Scientists don’t fully understand how these drugs work yet. Some studies indicate that they activate specific “reward” receptors in the brain that make high-calorie foods less gratifying, so users eat less.
This could also be the reason these drugs may reduce cravings for alcohol and opioids. For example, a previous study found that adding the GLP-1, exenatide, was effective at helping some people with obesity and alcohol use disorder drink less.
The Addiction study does not prove that GLP-1 medications directly lower the risks of opioid overdose and alcohol intoxication, only that people taking them seemed to be helped. And it only included hospitalizations so it’s not clear if they will work as well in less serious cases.
Prescribing the drugs to treat substance use, at least for now, isn’t possible because they aren’t approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for that purpose, Fitch pointed out.
“One of the challenges that we have as clinicians is we know that some of these benefits help patients. And not being able to get them access is very challenging,” she said.
People with substance use disorder keep using drugs or alcohol even though it causes problems in their life. According to the CDC, there are 178,000 annual deaths linked to excessive drinking. Over 75% of drug overdose deaths in 2022 involved opioids.
If you or someone you know is living with substance use disorder, free, confidential help is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week, by calling or texting the national lifeline at 988.
Dr. Faizah Shareef is an Internal Medicine Resident Physician and a member of the ABC News Medical Unit.
(WASHINGTON) — Vice President Kamala Harris said former President Donald Trump will roll back health care protections if he wins the presidential election.
Speaking to reporters on Thursday in Madison, Wisconsin, Harris said Trump unsuccessfully tried to repeal the Affordable Care Act (ACA), the landmark law signed by then-President Barack Obama in 2010, while he was president.
“Insurance companies could go back to a time where they would deny you coverage for health insurance based on pre-existing conditions, such being a survivor of breast cancer, asthma, diabetes,” Harris said. “The American people, regardless of who they are voting for, know the importance of Obamacare in terms of expanding coverage to health care, based on the fundamental principle I hold deeply: access to health care should be a right and not just a privilege for those who can afford it.”
“Health care for all Americans is on the line in this election,” Harris continued.
In a post on his social media platform Truth Social, Trump falsely claimed not wanting to end the ACA, even though he repeatedly tried to do so while president.
Here is what we know about Trump’s health care agenda if he is elected to a second term:
‘Concepts’ of a heath care plan
During the ABC News presidential debate in September, Trump said he was interested in replacing the ACA — also known as “Obamacare” — but implied that he didn’t have any specific plans in place.
“Obamacare was lousy health care. Always was,” Trump said. “It’s not very good today and, what I said, that if we come up with something, we are working on things, we’re going to do it and we’re going to replace it.”
When asked to clarify if he had a health care plan, the former president said he had “concepts of a plan” to replace the ACA but provided no details.
“If we can come up with a plan that’s going to cost our people, our population, less money and be better health care than Obamacare, then I would absolutely do it,” Trump said.
After Harris’ press conference on Thursday, Trump took to Truth Social to deny wanting to end the ACA.
“Lyin’ Kamala is giving a News Conference now, saying that I want to end the Affordable Care Act. I never mentioned doing that, never even thought about such a thing,” he wrote Thursday morning.
Trump made several attempts to repeal the ACA during his presidency but failed to do so.
He attempted to partially repeal the ACA by passing the American Health Care Act (ACHA). The plan would have repealed the individual mandate and the employer mandate, amended Medicaid eligibility and weakened protections for patients with pre-existing conditions.
The ACHA passed the House in May 2017 but failed to pass in the Senate. Perhaps mostly infamously, the Senate attempted to pass a so-called “skinny repeal” in late July 2017 but it was rejected, with Republican Sens. John McCain, Susan Collins and Lisa Murkowski siding with Senate Democrats to kill the bill.
During a closed-door campaign event for a fellow Republican House candidate earlier this week, House Speaker Mike Johnson said that there will be “no Obamacare.”
“We want to take a blowtorch to the regulatory state,” Johnson said in footage first reported by NBC News. “Health care is one of the sectors, but we need this across the board.”
“No Obamacare?” an attendee of the event asked Johnson.
“No Obamacare,” Johnson replied. “The ACA is so deeply ingrained, we need massive reform to make this work, and we got a lot of ideas on how to do that.”
Trump’s campaign has worked to separate itself from the speaker’s comments with Karoline Leavitt, national press secretary for the Trump campaign, telling ABC News in a statement that repealing the ACA is “not President Trump’s policy position.”
“As President Trump has said, he will make our health care system better by increasing transparency, promoting choice and competition, and expanding access to new affordable health care and insurance options. Kamala Harris broke our health care system, President Trump will fix it,” the statement continued.
The 2024 GOP platform currently calls for expanding access to “new” affordable health care and prescription drug access as well as protecting Medicare and increasing transparency in the health care sector.
Trump enlists Kennedy to oversee health care policy
Trump has also suggested that he intends to tap Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. — who dropped out of the presidential race in August and endorsed Trump — to help shape health care policies if he wins a second term.
During the Alfred E. Smith Memorial Foundation Dinner — an annual white-tie dinner to raise money for Catholic charities — earlier this month, Trump said Kennedy will “make us a healthier place.”
“We’re gonna let him go wild for a little while, then I’m gonna have to maybe reign him back, because he’s got some pretty wild ideas, but most of them are really good,” Trump said at the dinner. “I think he’s a — he’s a good man, and he believes, he believes the environment, the healthy people. He wants healthy people, he wants healthy food. And he’s going to do it. He’s going to have a big chance to do it, because we do need that.”
Kennedy said Trump has “promised” him “control of the public health agencies,” but Trump’s team said no decisions have been made yet on who will be leading these agencies if he wins the election.
However, Trump implied during a rally in Henderson, Nevada, on Thursday that Kennedy would play a role in shaping women’s health care policies.
“Robert F. Kennedy Jr., we have,” Trump said. “And he’s gonna work on health, and women’s health, and all of the different reasons ’cause we’re not really a wealthy or a healthy country. We’re not.”
There are currently no women’s health care issues listed in the 2024 GOP platform aside from keeping “men out of women’s sports.”
“The only thing President Trump and his campaign team are focused on is winning on November 5th. Everything after that is after that, and President Trump has made clear that Bobby Kennedy will play an important role,” Jason Miller, senior adviser to the Trump campaign told ABC News in a statement.
In response to Trump saying Kennedy will oversee women’s health, Harris reposted a clip of Trump’s comments on X with the caption “No” followed by a heart emoji.
The Harris campaign did not immediately respond to ABC News’ requests for comment.
ABC News’ Lalee Ibssa, Soorin Kim, Will McDuffie, Lauren Peller and Kelsey Walsh contributed to this report.
(NEW YORK) — North Carolina became the latest state to have a public health emergency declared by U.S. health officials in response to Hurricane Helene.
In a press release on Sunday evening, the Department of Health and Human Services said its Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response (ASPR) was moving equipment and personnel to North Carolina to help address the “potential health impacts” of Hurricane Helene.
It comes after PHEs were previously declared for Florida and Georgia. On Thursday, major disaster declarations were approved by President Joe Biden, which unlocked federal funds for disaster assistance and authorized the Federal Emergency Management Agency to coordinate all disaster relief efforts.
“We will do all we can to help North Carolina officials respond to the health impacts of Hurricane Helene,” HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra said in a statement. “We are working closely with state and local health authorities, as well as with our partners across the federal government, and stand ready to provide additional public health and medical support.”
Communities in western North Carolina, including the city of Asheville, were hit with “catastrophic” and “historic” flooding and landslides from Helene. Gov. Roy Cooper said between 10 and 29 inches of rain fell across the state’s western mountains.
Water systems have been impacted and some roads have washed away, hampering the ability for officials to set up food and water distribution sites.
The PHE declaration gives the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services greater flexibility in meeting the needs of Medicare and Medicaid beneficiaries and allows the ASPR to deploy teams to support local health requests, according to the HHS.
ASPR has deployed about 200 personnel including Health Care Situational Assessment Teams to evaluate the impact on health care facilities such as hospitals, nursing homes and dialysis centers, and Disaster Medical Assistance Teams to help state and local health workers provide care.
While the immediate impacts of natural disasters — such as hurricanes — include injuries and deaths, there are longer-term health issues that PHEs can help address.
Natural disasters can disrupt vital health services, including dialysis and breathing machines, and affect survivors’ emotional health and well-being, according to FEMA.
Flooding from hurricanes can damage sewage systems. If untreated sewage enters the drinking water supply, it could lead to widespread gastrointestinal illness. Additionally, flooding can cause mold to form, which can lead to respiratory illnesses if not removed.
HHS said it is identifying the number of Medicare beneficiaries in affected zip codes that rely on electricity-dependent medical equipment and devices, including dialysis and oxygen tanks “to help anticipate, plan for, and respond to the needs of at-risk citizens in potentially impacted areas.”
This is especially important for older Americans, who are at the highest risk of health issues. Research has shown that natural disasters can worsen mortality caused by heart disease and strokes among senior citizens.
For those experiencing emotional distress related to the hurricane, the HHS Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration has free crisis counseling through the Disaster Distress Helpline, which is toll-free and available 24/7 to all residents in the U.S. and its territories.
Counselors are available in more than 100 languages via third-party interpretation services when callers indicate their preferred language to the responding counselor, according to the HHS.
A PHE declaration lasts for the duration of the emergency or 90 days but can be extended by Secretary Becerra if needed.
Earlier this year, HHS issued PHEs in Texas in response to Hurricane Beryl; in Florida, Georgia and South Carolina in response to Hurricane Debby; and in Louisiana in response to Hurricane Francine.
