#korokage

[scriptmedic]

First of all, I'd like to say that your blog is a god send. Secondly, in one of my stories I have an antagonist that gets shot in the lumbar region of the spine (twice even), would it be realistic to have him, after some number of years/months later, able to walk with the assistance of a cane? I will admit that the setting the story is in has healing magic, but I imagine that something like getting double tapped in the spine would be too severe for that to help much.

Hey there nonny! If you want a spinal injury where someone could conceivably walk, you’ve hit on (ouch!) the right place! 

Here’s the thing about the lumbar spine: the spinal cord proper ends at L2, which is fairly high up. So injuries below L2 tend to produce numbness and severe weakness in the legs and the feet -- but not total paralysis thereof. 

So with some good PT and a little magic, yeah, walking with a cane (after many months of recovery) is a reasonable outcome, though they’ll likely get tired quickly and may get shooting pain down their legs. 

More info here: http://www.spinalcord.com/lumbar-l1-l5-vertebrae-spinal-cord-injury 

Thanks for the ask! 

xoxo, Aunt Scripty

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[transcriptroopers]

So, if someone in basic training punched a drill sergeant what would the punishment usually be? Also, is there anything that, say, an E-3 could do that would prevent them from progressing to an E-4?

Five words for you friend, condensed into four letters: UCMJ, or Uniform Code of Military Justice. That is assault of a non commissioned officer and not only will you receive an article 15 and extra duty as well as probably a pay dock and demotion, but if you’re attacking a drill sergeant in basic training, you’ll probably be dishonorably discharged under early entry separation. Basically it’s the worst possible thing you COULD do in basic training. If you want to give up and quit basic, fine; do it. Just don’t punch your drill sergeant. A dishonorable discharge will follow you a long while. And, yes: being flagged for PT failure or being overweight, or while being punished due to an article 15 or god forbid a court martial. These things can stop you from advancing to any rank, but notably being flagged prevents you from gaining a rank you otherwise would obtain automatically.

-Spc. Kingsley