What is a Spinal Cord Injury?
Spinal cord injury or SCI occurs when trauma or internal problems damage the spinal cord. It results in partial or complete loss of movement, sensation (feeling) and function of organs like the bowel or bladder. Spinal cord injuries are classified as either traumatic (caused by external injury or non-traumatic (caused by internal problems such as disease, infection or degeneration).
When the spinal cord is damaged the message highway is essentially closed as the nerves cannot transmit any messages between the brain and different parts of your body below the injury or internal problem; this results in partial or complete loss of ability to move or feel a body part or muscle group. Every spinal cord injury is unique which makes treatment and possible cures more difficult.
Spinal Cord Injury Ontario (SCIO)
SCIO is Ontario’s largest community of experts in spinal cord injury, serving people with all mobility disabilities for over 75 years.
Mission
Provide peer experiences, education, advocacy, research, and ongoing services for those impacted by spinal cord injuries.
Vision
An Ontario where every person with a SCI has access to job equity, accessible and affordable housing and the assistive equipment and support services they need.
Goals
- Provide knowledge and support based on lived experience and best practices to help people living with a spinal cord injury achieve their goals and navigate a better future.
- Support research to help find better assistive devices.
- Support all Ontarians with SCI with financial assistance towards assistive devices, accessible housing, etc.
Mike and Carolyn’s Story (2019)
Carolyn found Mike at the bottom of their stairs with no vital signs. Once in the hospital, Mike and Carolyn would soon learn that Mike had sustained a spinal cord injury and their lives would be changed forever.
Carolyn said, “The early days were quite a blur for us, I was dealing with the emotions of a devastating accident and Mike was not really aware of details … he was periodically coherent … but I wasn’t sure what the future held or not having him by my side.”
In those early days a Spinal Cord Injury Ontario coordinator reached out to Mike and Carolyn to assure them that SCIO was there for them and would help them navigate the healthcare system and their support options.
Spinal Cord Injury Ontario Regional Service Coordinators help people from the time they sustain a spinal cord injury through recovery and rehab to building a life of independence and choice. An example of this was SCIO starting the process to get assistive technology supports.
Mike is now equipped with speech input software and an eye tracking input device that he can use to direct a mouse pointer. The assistive technology has helped him reclaim some independence and boosted his outlook. He can email family and friends and research on the internet. The equipment also allows Mike to again pursue his love of reading without the assistance of others.
While he was still in the hospital, Mike’s goal was to get back home. “I want to go home, but the resources and care needed for me to be on a ventilator at home would be prohibitive,” says Mike. “So, getting off the vent was my first step.”
To support this step, the SCIO coordinator connected Mike and Carolyn with a previous SCIO client who has successfully come off a ventilator, so they could learn from his experience. This young man had undergone a rare surgery to implant a diaphragm pacing system designed to help normal breathing by electronically stimulating the diaphragm muscles and nerves.
Mike went ahead with the surgery and has since been going through a ‘weaning’ process to get him off the ventilator. He has gone from being able to be off the ventilator for only minutes to being able to be off it for four hours twice a day. He continues to work towards being “vent free”.
