A stand of its own: E-STAND study improves the lives of neurotrauma patients

In the blink of an eye, 24-year-old Evan Faucett’s world turned upside down during a motocross competition when his bike landed without him. That life-changing moment was over six years ago on July 9, 2018. It’s been a long road to recovery, but with the help of the Epidural Stimulation After Neurologic Damage (E-STAND) study implant and the Restorative Neurotrauma Lab (RNL) with Co-Principal Investigator (Co-PI) and Neurosurgeon, David Darrow, MD, PhD, at the helm, his quality of life has vastly improved.

While epidural spinal cord stimulation has been used for almost 50 years for chronic pain management, about ten years ago, researchers discovered that it could be used to recover some voluntary movement in paraplegic patients. Given this discovery, the E-STAND trial was born.

“Through its innovative trial design, the E-STAND study offers a widely accessible, individualized therapy that has the potential to improve the daily lives of individuals affected by spinal cord injury (SCI). The promising early results continue to serve as inspiration and motivation for the E-STAND team to continue working to explore ways to meet those with SCIs where they are and improve their quality of life,” said Co-PI and Neurosurgeon Samuel Cramer, MD, PhD.

For the 300,000 people living with chronic spinal cord injury like Evan Faucett, the E-STAND trial is life-changing. According to the RNL, Faucett is one of the 24 participants enrolled since the trial’s inception in 2017. To qualify, the participants must meet a very specific list of inclusion criteria, including:

• It must be more than one year since the initial injury.
• They must be at least 22 years old.
• The patient’s injury must be between their C6-T10 vertebrae.
• They must have motor-complete paraplegia (the connections between the brain and body below the injury are severed).
• They must have an American Spinal Injury Association (ASIA) A or B Spinal Cord Injury Classification.

The current cohort, which lasts 13 months, has four participants. While the trial is based in Minnesota, participants have come from the US, Canada, and other countries across the globe. Faucett himself hails from Kirklin, Indiana. Throughout the trial, there have been seven female, and 17 male participants enrolled, all of whom suffered from blunt trauma, ranging from 23-70 years old at the time of enrollment.

The trial seeks to explore how implanting an epidural stimulator can restore voluntary movement in people who haven’t been able to move since they were injured. The highly customizable implant is remotely controlled through a tablet application with monthly in-person check-ups. Using the data from the tablet and the in-person check-up allows medical professionals to choose the best stimulation settings for the largest quality of life improvements based on the patient’s unique preferences.

Not only does this trial have the potential to restore voluntary movement, but it can also restore paraplegic patients’ sense of dignity and autonomy by restoring control of their urinary systems. Imagine needing assistance every time you use the bathroom, something able-bodied people think nothing of. Patients in the study have also seen cardiovascular improvements, improved core support, and reduced muscle spasticity.

Playing to win

Before the accident, Faucett was living life at full speed. He grew up riding and racing motocross bikes and shortly before the accident, he received his professional motocross license. Outside of racing, he worked as a chocolatier, roofing contractor, and as an auto detailer.

Nowadays, he sinks his competitive teeth into pool and Xbox video games like Fortnight and racing games.

“It’s not as exciting and adrenaline-filled, but playing pool is competitive and I play a lot of good people.”

He started playing pool four to five years ago and joined a pool league six months ago with his “Great Uncle Dennis” and friend Jim. With the help of an at-home pool table, he qualified for the Most Valuable Player (MVP) tournament during his first league session and later took home fourth place. He hopes to qualify for and join the American Poolplayer Association’s (APA) World Championship in Las Vegas in August 2025.

But before he found pool as a competitive outlet, his recovery journey didn’t always play fair. Besides becoming paralyzed, he also suffered a traumatic brain injury, and his memory was a bit hazy for the first two years.

“It’s just kind of blurry. My memory and everything are good now, but for the first 2 [to] 2ish years after the accident after getting hurt, I don’t remember that great,” said Faucett.

The road to recovery

When an extended family member sent his mother, Vicki Faucett, a KARE11 news story on the E-STAND trial, things started to mend for Evan. With the help of the implant, he’s able to feel more confident. The implant assists with bodily movements, and overall, makes everyday life easier.

Faucett defies the odds and pushes the limits by continuing to drive a car every day and occasionally riding his dirt bike in his family’s yard.

“I like doing things that are challenging, even if they frustrate [me]. I do more crazy stuff than 90% of the wheelchair community, I think. Everyone at the [physical] therapy place thinks I’m crazy.”

Faucett can drive, thanks to the accessibility modifications to his car, including a lever to the left of the steering wheel that’s connected to the pedals for gas and braking.

“I never thought I was going to drive again, but I drive a car every day. I’m usually the Uber [for the] whole crowd I’m driving. Front row parking,” he said with a big grin.

Of course, he has good days and bad days like anyone else. Post-accident, he has developed more compassion and gratitude for nonapparent and apparent disabilities.

“I’m thankful it wasn’t worse because [there are] people who have it worse than I do. I just know there are people that struggle worse. There [are] so many different levels of struggle – physical, mental… Truly I should have been dead that day. It’s a second chance [on life],” said Faucett gratefully.

Faucett still attends physical therapy twice a week and has traveled to Minnesota six to seven times for the E-STAND trial check-ins.

“[Doing] this trial is worth whatever expenses you have to go through because I think it’s helpful. The traveling and everything and having to get a car and a hotel every month, I think it’s worth it to see if there are possibilities.”