September Is…

Spinal Cord Injury Awareness Month

With the advent of social media, it seems every calendar month has been earmarked with a particular cause for awareness. For spinal cord injury, that month is September. Thirty days are designated to highlight and draw attention, and thus increase fund raising for all aspects of the condition.

Science and research are definitely at the top of the awareness list, but other, everyday topics like SCI Health & Wellness, Adaptive Fitness, Accessible Travel and more recently SCI Life with COVID are featured in feeds and timelines across social platforms.

This may sound macabre, but there truly has never been a better time in history than now to live with a spinal cord injury. Influencers from all parts of the globe share their ways of life online. With the click of a button on your phone there is an answer for any question, making the world feel ever-smaller – only a single degree of separation from us all.

Today, we have countless stories of recovery from injury, adapted adventure, entrepreneurship despite adversity and scientific breakthroughs that constantly inspire.

Gone are the days of info-isolation, as algorithms influence our web browsing and data consumption. Whether we like it or not, if you are plugged into the matrix (the internet), you are by proxy exposed to a proverbial fire hose of information… amplified even more this month.

This is a good thing, because when I was first injured, there were very few success stories, information was hard to find, and many of my questions – and my families’ questions – went unanswered.

We have momentum now. Science is inching us closer and closer to the holy grail:  a cure from paralysis. We also have the option to live a high quality of life because of our societal awareness, communal conversations and tangible tools for better living.

This makes me proud to curate information and contribute to the collective database with our Shield HealthCare Spinal Cord Injury lifestyle platform.

It reminds me that we are all in this together, and it is only together that we rise.

Share your story with me in the comments below.

I would love to hear from you.

-Aaron