Building a Roadmap to Recovery

People learning to live with an SCI don’t always follow the same path, but there is one common need: information. To augment our services and programs, and to help meet this need, SCIO has been awarded funding from the Ontario Trillium Foundation to produce a publication that consolidates the most relevant and important information for those newly injured. We have a writer on board (see Julie Sawchuk’s note below) and have reached out to our community for thoughts on how to make this book as useful as possible.

In Roadmap, you’ll find Julie’s compelling story and detailed information about every stage on the SCI journey: from injury to acute care to rehab to learning to live independently and thrive with an SCI. You’ll also find insights from professional health care providers and others who make up the diverse teams that support people who have sustained an SCI. “I wanted to give others what I didn’t have,” says Julie. “When you’re in such a vulnerable and confused state, after sustaining a spinal cord injury, you want a roadmap. You want someone who’s been there to answer your questions: What can I expect? Who do I go to for help? How do I solve this problem? This is what inspired me to write this book with SCIO.”

Roadmap to Recovery will be available in limited copies in print and as a digital publication in March 2020.

Meet Julie

Hello SCIO community! I live on a tiny farm in Blyth, Ontario. I was diagnosed with a T4 incomplete SCI after a bike vs. car MVA in July 2015. I am a teacher, wife and mother of two. I have been writing about my experience as a way to help others and for my own mental health.

I know that I am not the first person in Ontario to have a spinal cord injury, and unfortunately I know I won’t be the last. I have only my story, one set of experiences to share. With the help from the Ontario Trillium Foundation I am working with Spinal Cord Injury Ontario to create a resource to help Ontarians with a spinal cord injury navigate the path through their recovery.

Over the past several months I have been speaking to members of the SCI community for their insights and experiences. Everyone has a different injury, lives in a different setting and has had a variety of professionals help along the way. Thank you for contributing. I look so forward to sharing the final publication with you!

Stay tuned for information on accessing the publication.