How do doctors make predictions of how long someone will live or if they’ll ever walk normally again?

Question

I was rewatching an old video on YouTube and the guy was able to walk again after 10 months of practicing yoga and losing 140 lbs. If no one on earth can exactly predict when someone will die or if they’ll be able to walk again, how and why do doctors come up with these predictions?

https://youtu.be/qX9FSZJu448

In: Mathematics

Answer 1

Physical therapist here. I get to answer this question with patients quite often in the hospital. Of course it depends on several factors (working with PT, physiatrists, prosthetics and orthotics, etc). Some people can physically take steps with assistance after they are told they will “never walk again” but their walking is not always functional. It also depends on how you were walking before whatever incident. After years of practice, I have a pretty good sense of how someone will walk again after their first week with PT in the ICU.