Support for Family & Friends
This section is for everyone who is adjusting to life after a member of their family, or a close friend, has sustained a spinal cord injury (SCI).
- This includes all those who have a close personal relationship with the newly-injured person.
We recognise the emotional impact of SCI on family and friends, and hope to give some insight into the daily challenges that may have to be faced, and how to manage these, both in the early days and after an injured person returns home.
REMEMBER: The more knowledge you have, the less helpless you will feel.
None of us can predict how we will cope in a crisis
- When someone has a major trauma like Spinal Cord Injury, their partner, parents or children may be as emotionally affected as the person who has sustained the injury.
- We hope that the information on this website will prove a helpful resource to you.
- In addition, below are a couple of options to help you understand and deal with the situation.
Friends and Family Mornings
The NSIC holds Friends and Family mornings 3 times a year, which gives you an opportunity to find out more about spinal cord injury and how to support your loved ones in the future.
Note: Since the pandemic, these have been held online via Teams, but they are still proving really popular and useful. We are now also able to invite you in person, if you prefer.
For more information, and to sign up to attend, please click this link
The Spinal Injuries Association (SIA)
The Spinal Injuries Association (SIA) has a useful selection of fact sheets covering different aspects of SCI, which can be downloaded from their website.
There are also a range of other booklets in their Moving Forward series covering a wide range of topics.
Two books which may be especially helpful to read are Spinal Cord Injury – In the Early Days and Your Health and Well-being. These are aimed at the person with the injury, but will also help you gain an understanding of SCI.
If you are still having difficulty finding out about a particular issue, SIA’s Advice Line can also answer any queries that you may have about SCI.
They can be contacted by telephone during weekdays between the hours of 9.30 am and 4.30pm:
Telephone: 0800 980 0501
Via the advice line enquiry form on www.spinal.co.uk
Text SIA and your enquiry to 81025
Email adviceline@spinal.co.uk
