"Life isn't over following a spinal cord injury!" - Ralph Charlwood

Ambassador and wheelchair user, Ralph Charlwood, shares these 'did you know' facts and figures in recognition of Friday 19th May, Spinal Cord Injury (SCI) Awareness Day:

1. Spinal cord injury paralyses someone every four hours.

2. 50% of spinally injured will be incomplete and substantially affected by SCI but not so obviously i.e not in a wheelchair.

3. For SCI people, research has shown that 90% of wishes of those affected were things that would change daily life rather than finding a ‘cure’.

4. Virtually everybody has a different experience of SCI (the numbers game per the Game of Life) but the big wins are few e.g. Urinary Tract Infection, Neuropathic Pain, etc.

5. A spinal cord injury can happen to anyone, at any time.

Nine spinal injury charities including Stoke Mandeville Spinal Research have joined forces today to raise awareness of SCI, which affects over 50,000 people in the UK alone.