u/QDanzer

How many of you paid privately for extended / advanced rehab after you were discharged? I’m from Ireland and have been home permanently for about 3 weeks. I’m a T12 complete due to the fact I have no sacral sparing atm but I have movement in my left leg and lots of sensation below my injury line.

I have started going to physio once a week and started strength training, I also stand 3/4 times a week and I am generally moving a lot and I am feeling stronger every day, however I am worried if I don’t go to one of these advanced spinal rehab centres I am wasting my potential for healing. The NHS rehab centre I was sent to really wasn’t that great.

They cost a lot of money that I don’t really have. I might enquire into a few over in England just to see what the costs are but are they definitely worth it? Can these spinal rehab centres bring back any movement that won’t come back on its own?

This post probably doesn't need to be made as I am sure you are all aware of the risk involved in riding, but I thought I would make it anyway because if it can make even one person take it a little more easy on the road and avoid them being in my current situation, then I would consider it a success.

Earlier this year I was out on a lovely Sunday morning solo ride. I had just taken a break and was on my last stretch before arriving home, little did I know I wouldn't be making it home for another 14 weeks. I was on a long country road and I was having fun, admittedly. Unfortunately I took a corner wrong and carried a bit to much speed on the exit, caught the grass on the road side and went straight of into a field and whatever way I landed caused me to break my back and cause a spinal cord injury resulting in paralysis below the waist. Looking at the place where I went of you would scratch your head and wonder how the hell I became paralysed from this accident, I didn't hit a tree, or a metal post, or a wall or any standing structure, just a straight run of with a small drop into a field but unfortunately this is the luck that I was dealt that day. In some ways I feel extremely lucky to be alive, in other ways I feel extremely unlucky.

Lying in that field unable to move my legs was a truly haunting experience that I wouldn't wish upon my worst enemy. I was fully leathered and geared up with full AAA RST Tractech gear and all the padding so don't think that your gear makes you invincible.

I'm not here to acquire sympathy, or justification or anything like that. The point of this post is to remind anyone who may like to ride hard out on the roads, that if you play stupid games you will get stupid prizes. I was going to fast to deal with any rapidly changing circumstances and I paid the price, not the ultimate price but damn near close to it. I was only riding two years and I was loving it.. the adrenaline, the thrill and just the life in general, I put in over 10k miles in those two years and didn't have any accidents except this one. I'm sure there is lots of people in here who has had a friend or someone they know be killed or seriously hurt on a motorbike, so please please please.. Be safe and take it easy out there.

Injured 15 weeks ago (T12) and now paraplegic. I swear I cannot believe the things people say to my face now or my partners since the accident. Some examples:

“Fair play to your woman for staying with you mate, 99% of women would have left by now”

Yes thank you for reminding me how life changing this injury is and how fucked I might be at ever having a relationship if my partner decided to leave for whatever reason, I sure haven’t thought about that every day of my life since the accident.

“You’re doing amazing, honestly I’d have killed myself by now if this happened to me”

Oh that’s lovely, please continue to remind me that suicide might be the better option here.

“Does your dick work?” Or some other wording to figure out if my genitals work

Are you fucking kidding me?

“Are you going to stay with him?” or “I couldn’t stay with my husband/partner if this happened to them”

A lot of my partners friends said these things to her directly after my accident

Oh and what is it with older folk completely disregarding the fact I’m in a wheelchair and paralysed then complaining to me about their sore back that they’ve had for years like it’s somehow worse than being paralysed. And BOY do they love to stare at me in the chair, they stare more than the children do. They are genuinely some of most oblivious and ignorant people I’ve come across.

Idk, I just can’t believe the brashness of people. I think they think that they’re giving me a compliment or they’re being nice or something but honestly people need to read the fucking room sometimes.

[Edit] Lots of replies, advice and funny stories here guys, thanks for taking the time to comment, it’s made me feel a little bit less alone with this frustration.

In regards to options for a refund or to keep their tickets for next year? I purchased a travel and stay package and haven’t received anything yet.