GRAND RAPIDS, Mich — A former police officer paralyzed from the neck down is helping other spinal cord injury patients recover, even as he continues his own recovery.
John Tellis, of Mount Pleasant, was paralyzed last August after a freak accident while walking his dog.
"I don't know if his leash got wrapped around my feet or if I just slipped, but I wound up falling straight back and heard a loud snap," Tellis said. "It was probably the worst and scariest moment of my life."
Tellis went from the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) to inpatient rehabilitation at Mary Free Bed in West Michigan, where he had to relearn how to walk.
He is now working to regain hand function using the ARC-EX, a device that stimulates nerves and the spine through electrodes to increase sensation.
It's the first FDA-cleared non-invasive device shown to improve hand strength and sensation in people with spinal cord injuries.
"My hands are totally numb, so I can't tell if something is sharp or not. I can't tell if it's irregular or smooth. I just have no way of knowing," Tellis said, comparing the sensation to dental anesthesia.
The results from the ARC-EX were immediate.
"I could do things I couldn't do before. Immediately, I had more dexterity, I had more fluidity in my motions, in my movements," Tellis said. "It was just incredible how that machine brought me forward in terms of what I had hoped to gain, feeling, function, strength."
The 72-year-old was the first patient to use the device at Mary Free Bed, and thanks to his generosity he will not be the last. Tellis made a significant financial gift to bring the machine to the hospital— ensuring other patients would have access to it.
"I thought this is something other people have to use. It's life changing," Tellis said. "I want to help as many people as I can."
Katie O'Brien, an occupational therapist at Mary Free Bed, said the donation reflects Tellis' character.
"I think it's so incredibly special and speaks a lot to John and the kind of person that he is," O'Brien said. "We have a list of probably 15 patients, not necessarily like on the waiting list, but on the list that would be appropriate for the device use."
The hospital says at least 8 patients are already benefiting from the ARC-EX, and that number is expected to grow. Residual effects from the machine can last anywhere from several hours to days.
For Tellis, the journey has been transformative.
"It was certainly addressing what I was most concerned about, was getting the use of my hands and getting feeling back," Tellis said. "As far as being able to take care of myself and function, I mean it's just been an amazing journey."
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
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