I have recently joined Aspire as Communications Manager and was invited, along with the Aspire Channel Swim Manager, Rob Lawrenson, to attend Friends and Relatives Day at Stoke Mandeville Hospital on Friday 11th March.

The day was, essentially, an opportunity for family and friends of patients currently in the Spinal Injury Centre to find out more about spinal injuries, to meet with ex-patients and to address any questions or general concerns they had.

The day was organised into a morning and afternoon session. The morning session consisted of presentations by the professionals involved in the patient’s rehabilitation, such as a consultant and occupational therapist.
 
After a magnificent lunch and some networking, the afternoon session began with ex-patients sharing their experiences post rehabilitation and how having a spinal injury is indeed life changing but has not held them back from living their lives.  As one ex-patient, and father of young twins, put it,” Life carries on, it is just...different.”

The friends and relatives were then paired up with an ex-patient who had a similar level of injury as their relative and they were able to ask more specific questions in a confidential environment.

I was left in no doubt as to the impact a day like this has on a relative and how the opportunity to have fears, worries and questions personally addressed in such a positive way must ease their concerns at what is understandably a difficult time.

Kirsty Marrins