International Spinal Cord Injury Day was commemorated on Thursday, drawing attention to the many ways people can be affected by spinal cord injury, creating awareness of prevention and highlighting the possibilities for a fulfilling life after injury.
According to the World Health Organization, globally, over 15 million people are living with spinal cord injuries. Most of these cases are due to trauma, including falls, road traffic injuries or violence, Jessica Morris, an occupational therapist at the Netcare Rehabilitation Hospital in Auckland Park, said.
One of the most critical aspects of care for those impacted by spinal cord injuries is rehabilitation through a holistic, integrated approach from a multidisciplinary team.
At 14, Kamogelo Sodi of Alberton enjoys listening to music, chatting with his friends on social media and working hard at school towards his dream of becoming a neurosurgeon one day. He cooks for himself when he’s hungry and loves looking after his three little brothers. He also likes playing basketball.
The difference between him and most other teenagers is that he does all this from his wheelchair.
“Since I’ve been in a wheelchair, I’ve become more confident. I was extremely shy and I didn’t have a lot of friends, but now I have loads of friends,” Sodi said.
In 2016, when he was just 6 years old, his life changed forever. He was in a devastating car crash, which left him with fractures in the lumbar region of his spine, resulting in complete paraplegia.
Once discharged from hospital, where he underwent emergency surgery, Kamogelo was sent to the Netcare Rehabilitation Hospital to learn how to cope with — as his mother Reshoketswe Sodi calls it — his new normal.
He was to stay there for almost six months, during which he was taught skills to manage himself. His family was also helped on their journey towards accepting and learning to cope with this difficult transition in his life.
Meanwhile, security officer Vincent Kwananda, 41, also had to learn to cope with his disability. He was on duty at a garage shop in Delmas, Mpumalanga, when three armed robbers stormed in and shot him, fracturing his thoracic vertebrae, leaving him with critical injuries.
“When I woke up from a coma in hospital, they told me what had happened. I didn’t ask many questions. I couldn't remember anything of that fateful day in February last year.”
This was the beginning of a gruelling journey to a whole new way of life to regain his independence.
Dr Aneesa Khan, a general practitioner with a special interest in physical medicine and rehabilitation at the Netcare Rehabilitation Hospital, explained that Kwananda had sustained serious, life-changing injuries in the shooting.
He spent six weeks in the Netcare Alberton Hospital and then went for rehabilitation.
Jessica Morris, a senior occupational therapist at the Netcare Rehabilitation Hospital, said Kwananda had very limited movement in his fingers. “His occupational therapist taught him how to use assisted devices like universal cuffs and assistive devices to obtain more independence. A year later, he can extend his fingers a little and can form a grasp with his fingers, mostly without these devices.”
She said they were still exploring other ways to help him. “With any spinal cord injury there are lifelong changes and adaptations needed.”
Kwananda has, meanwhile, against the odds, returned to work on adapted hours. “He was adamant he wanted to go back to work from his first day here. Our hope is that one day he will be able to be fully reintegrated back at work,” Morris said.
Kwananda stepped in to act as a mentor to newer patients in the hospital, instilling hope for their rehabilitation journey. Morris said patients at the Netcare Rehabilitation Hospital often form mentor-mentee relationships, showing each other there is light at the end of this tunnel.
Pretoria News
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