Support for the Spinal Cord Injury Centre!

Posted by Rebekah Ahmed on 01 September 2016

In February, former LSCIC patient Paul Rose returned to the Unit along with his colleague Perry Dowsett to present the RNOH with a donation of £500. Here Paul shares an insight into his journey over the past year.

“On 24th February 2015, I was commuting by motorcycle to work for a night shift; this 23-mile trip was always a very busy one. I was less than one mile from work when the accident happened. It would change my life forever. My motorcycle hit the front driver’s side of a Range Rover which was pulling out of a side entrance. I was taken to the Royal London Hospital in Whitechapel. This is where I had my surgery, a T4 (the fourth uppermost of the 12 thoracic vertebrae) front and rear fixing of my spine. I was at the Royal London for about three weeks. Although I owe them so much for the great work they did, it was only the very start of me living and coming to terms with being a paraplegic.

After the surgery I felt lost and unsure of my future. I was lying in my bed at the Royal London when a lady called Sophie from the RNOH visited me. She was very interested in offering me a place at the Spinal Cord Injury Centre; the rehabilitation and reintegration would be what I needed to get my life back on track. Not long after that visit I was on my way to Stanmore to start the next part of my journey. From the moment I arrived at Stanmore I felt at ease, many people came to my bedside and introduced themselves. Once settled in I was put on a weekly timetable which gave me structure and goals to reach.

I went from strength to strength, not only in my health but also emotionally in just 12 weeks of rehabilitation. The support I received was immense, from the nurses on the unit to the physiotherapists in the gym, and not forgetting the rehabilitation assistants who helped me learn how to cope with the outside world from a seated position. I didn't fully appreciate what these people had given me until I left the unit and had to face the world by myself. They were always there to help and I hadn't realised how much support they really had given me.

Vopak, the company that I work for, like to donate to local areas or causes that employees have a personal involvement with, and so they chose the RNOH. We would like to see this donation used for medical equipment and improvements to patient activities within the Spinal Injury Unit or Physiotherapy departments.”

To support the Spinal Cord Injury expansion and help lots of other patients like Paul that are in need of our life changing care, just head over to our crowdfunding campaign page, where you can pledge towards much needed equipment and facilities. Ultimately, we want to give our patients the greatest possible chance of returning to a fully independent lifestyle. By pledging to our campaign, you can help us do just that.

If you’d like more information about getting your employer involved in charitable giving just get in touch at fundraising@rnoh.nhs.uk, or give us a call on 020 8909 5362.