September 3, 2025
Got Our Back?
Quinn Brett
September is National Spinal Cord Injury Awareness Month here in the U.S. It is also National Wilderness Month. Being the outdoor enthusiast that I am, I can’t help but examine the relationship between these two vital aspects of my life - both brimming with the unknown and challenging how we navigate unpredictable environments.
Thoughtful exploration of the wilderness has helped map difficult terrain and catalogue flora and fauna, providing more knowledge, safety and solutions for how we can better exist within our ecosystem.
Charles Darwin (left) and San Cristobal Island (right) in the Galapagos Islands of Ecuador, where Darwin’s exploration of that islands bird and tortoise species helped him develop his scientific theory of evolution.
SCI research should be thought about similarly to wilderness exploration. In this case, those of us with an SCI are in the wilderness. Mapping, grasping and replicating the micro systems and individual differences in our bodies, while also addressing the thousands of nuances in body types (along with subjective perception and experience) make it an incredibly complex problem to “solve.” Yet, these barriers shouldn’t halt us from exploring. SCI sucks! Let’s keep adapting and attempt to find solutions.
Our SCI community has a reputation for being jaded about research - and rightly so. Each day is filled with small and large physical, mental and emotional barriers that are directly related to our injury. Meanwhile, years go by without seeing a treatment that addresses nerve pain, bowel or bladder function, sexual function, autonomic dysreflexia, or the myriad other secondary conditions we must manage.
Me, Jared Hogg, Jared Potter, and Walt Schumacher during and after our initial hospital stays.
I too, at times, get discouraged. Yet, where do we dump our discouragement? The internet, of course. Go find any list-serve, Reddit thread or social media forum dedicated to SCI and you will inevitably find an endless amount of cynical and dystopian comments about researchers and the research landscape. There is no shortage of opinions about why there will NEVER be functional recovery treatments.
I totally feel this frustration on a daily basis. I do. And I think the SCI community's dark humor is an important tool for catharsis and emotional stability. The problem with endless complaining is twofold. First, the energy you’re putting out in the world is discouraging you and others. Second, it is, well, largely wrong.
Sam Troyer, Jared Hogg, Jared Potter and Walt Schumacher are participating in adaptations and interventions that are making a difference in their day to day lives - you'll hear each of their stories soon!
That’s why for SCI Awareness month U2FP is highlighting functional recovery treatments that have actually improved people’s lives. We’re focusing on our friends who have dedicated their mental, emotional and physical selves to finding constructive solutions for the difficult problem of SCI recovery.
We’ll be highlighting their stories on social media, in our newsletter and on our blog.
Many of these individuals are working with U2FP to help push functional recovery research forward. One of them - who has requested to remain anonymous, and whose story we won’t be sharing - is putting their own money on the line: they’ve offered to match all donations to U2FP up to $50,000 this month.
We’ve dubbed this campaign ‘Got Our Back?’ because we want to shine a light on informed hope and show the world that working for our own recovery is a worthwhile investment. If you agree, please donate what you can. And then jump on this small but growing bandwagon of SCI individuals who are fighting for their own recovery.
So get on the success train. Yes it’s slower than it should be. Yes it requires hard work. And yes, we will continue to make mistakes and occasionally find ourselves on the wrong paths. But that's why we need more advocates with strong voices to emphasize the importance of smart, SCI-informed research. To the Nay Sayers, I counter— research dollars can work better with your involvement; small gains in functional recovery are happening. And it can go a little faster with your help.
Start off SCI Awareness month by showing us you've 'Got Our Back'. Give what you can today and help us reach our $50,000 match goal by the end of September!
Let's go!
