Andrew Uttridge, a founder of the Trust alongside his wife Marrianne Rooprai, explains the aims of their work. “The availability of specialised physiotherapy for people with spinal cord injury is extremely restricted on the NHS. As a result many people deteriorate, do not recover to their full potential and their quality of life is permanently damaged. We know from Marrianne’s personal experience that the right help at the right time can be life changing, both physically and psychologically. That’s why we launched the Trust, working closely with Prime Physio in Melbourn, Cambridgeshire, who specialise in physiotherapy for spinal cord injuries.”
Before 2020, the Trust was helping around 20 individuals each month with face-to-face services and most are now coming back to the clinic. Some people who live locally attend physiotherapy on a regular basis, but those living further away can opt to attend for an intensive one-week course. The Trust is committed to helping people over the very long term – most physiotherapy support needs to last a lifetime.
“When our fundraising efforts were seriously hampered by the pandemic, The Evelyn Trust awarded us some generous funding which has enabled us to help four individuals who are based in Cambridgeshire. Most of the people we support are paralysed due to injury, typically a car accident, or a sporting injury. We are also keen to help the rarer cases of paralysis due to viral infection, such as transverse myelitis, which can literally paralyse you overnight.”
For more details of the vital work of the Rooprai Spinal Trust, go to www.rstrust.com