September is Spinal Cord Injury Awareness Month, or SCI Awareness Month.
We publish specialized content each year to celebrate this awareness month, amplifying views and voices within the SCI community and sharing perspectives from our clients and their communities of support.
Why We Celebrate Spinal Cord Injury Awareness Month
More than 18,000 new traumatic spinal cord injuries take place every year.
A spinal cord injury often represents a shocking, overwhelming, isolating, and traumatic event.
Spinal cord injuries can forever change the lives of not just the individuals who experience them but also their family members, friends, and community.
We celebrate Spinal Cord Injury Awareness Month to amplify the voices of individuals impacted by spinal cord injuries.
Spinal cord injury awareness represents a chance to:
- Fight back against ableism and inaccessibility
- Challenge myths about life with paralysis, and
- Show individuals and families that they are not alone.
How to Celebrate Spinal Cord Injury Awareness Month
If you are living with a spinal cord injury yourself or are a caregiver or loved one for someone with SCI, you can celebrate Spinal Cord Injury Awareness Month in any way that feels authentic and effective to you.
You may keep your reflections and actions private, or you can add your voice to the dialogue this month by sharing your firsthand insights on social media, in videos, in blog posts or articles, or in other ways.
Don’t have firsthand experience with SCI? Here are three ways to celebrate Spinal Cord Injury Awareness Month:
Understand
Take the time to learn about life with a spinal cord injury. Absorb firsthand content, follow influencers and advocates who live with SCI, and enrich your understanding so you can fight back against myths, misconceptions, and ableism.
Amplify
Share what you learn! Re-share content from individuals with SCI to help more people gain awareness, understanding, and respect during Spinal Cord Injury Awareness Month and all year long.
Donate
Donate to nonprofits like Help Hope Live that provide resources and support to the spinal cord injury community. We help thousands of individuals living with SCI to afford what they need to heal, live, and thrive through trusted medical fundraising campaigns.
What Is the Cost of Spinal Cord Injury Treatment?
A spinal cord injury imposes substantial financial burdens on both individuals with SCI and their families, with common expenses ranging from hospitalization to long-term rehabilitation and equipment that can add up to $1.3 million per year depending on the severity of the injury.
Help Hope Live provides financial assistance for spinal cord injuries through community-based fundraising to help combat the high cost of spinal cord injury treatment.
Learn and Share
Ready to learn more about life with a spinal cord injury? Here are a few posts to get you started:
This post will help you learn more about ableism, person-first language, and inclusion in the workplace.
This post explains the out-of-pocket costs associated with a spinal cord injury, and how you can connect SCI families with trusted resources for financial help.
Follow our nonprofit’s Latest blog to access additional content we publish about life with a spinal cord injury, including firsthand perspectives and in-depth information on symptoms, recovery, and more.
Written by Emily Progin
