Learning about SCI
It might feel a bit daunting at first, thinking about how you and your family are going to manage when you or your relative comes home.
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- Firstly there are many things that a person with SCI has to learn about in order to look after their body and gain independence.
- If you are a partner or other relative, you may initially feel that you have to deal with all the different aspects of care by yourself and that it is up to you to look after them…This is not the case and is mostly discouraged, unless it is specifically the choice of the partner and the person with the SCI.
- As well as direct advice, guidance and other input from the NSIC itself, there is a lot of information around that is designed to help you manage, once you are at home.
The more knowledge you have, the less helpless you will feel.
The NSIC holds virtual Family and Friends mornings online several times a year, and attending these can be both useful and interesting.
For more details, click here
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 other booklets in the 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 family and friends 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 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
Everything on this website is aimed at helping both the person with SCI and their family and friends!
The content here will be updated as required, to include latest developments.
A good starting point is the About Us section of this website.
Patient education sessions provide a range of essential information after SCI:
Group sessions take place in the patient education room, next to the Spinal café.
You will be given a timetable of all your sessions each week. Patient education sessions will be when the team feels the time is right, usually about a month after your admission.
The ideal aim is for you to complete all sessions in a month, even if not everything feels relevant at the time.
The programme is designed to give you all the info you will need after discharge.
You are welcome to come again to a session if you want to recap the information.
For more information about the Patient Education Programme, please click this link.