Spinal Cord Injury is devastating at any age but has the advantage that skills and sports have already been learnt.
You might be surprised to know that dance is becoming a popular pastime and a sport both in the U.K and other countries for wheelchair users. It has been possible to train to teach dance to people with a range of disabilities.
In sport, the Paralympics is an excellent example of the enduring power and resilience of the human spirit. As we know, technology is changing our world and quickly, exercise can become second best to the computer, tablet, phone and internet access.
Perhaps we have forgotten the friends we made out in the street, kicking a football around, the life long relationships, the ability to laugh with each other and the ability to learn skills by watching and doing rather than spoon-fed by a teacher.
Wheelchair dance firstly helps with self-esteem and forgetting difficulties for a few hours. The competitive nature of sport is downplayed in wheelchair dance with each participant helping every other dancer to achieve rapidly. To dance again when you thought you could never again, has the effect of transforming lives.
Take a look at our website to see wheelchair users doing their wedding dance here.
Written by Dr. Steve Brain, Medical Trustee for the WDSA (UK).