Simon's back breaking fundraiser (off with the mop)

Simon Schull is raising money for SpinalCure
Donations cannot currently be made to this page

Simon's back breaking fundraiser (off with the mop) · 30 September 2016

Every day, another Australian is left paralysed by a spinal cord injury. The impact of a spinal cord injury on someone’s life, and on their family is overwhelming. SpinalCure’s sole aim is to find a cure for this devastating condition through the funding of medical research.

Story

I was born in Sept 1994 and my parents reckon they knew pretty soon that I was going to be the adventurous type. I am the youngest of 3 boys and 1 girl in our family.
I love hanging out with friends and participating in sports. I regularly enjoy Motocross, touch footy and also love motorcycle trail rides, deep sea diving and recently learnt to snowboard which I intend to do again when I get the chance. I also have a passion for music and love attending music festivals and concerts.

On 7th February 2015 I had an accident while out riding my bike with some mates. After the ambulance drove me approximately 20km to the Chinchilla hospital I was airlifted to Toowoomba Hospital where they discovered I had fractured my T3, T4 & T5 vertebrae; crushing T3 & T4 to approximately one third of their normal size. There was also some damage to the process bones behind my spinal cord but I was lucky enough to not suffer spinal cord damage. I lay flat on my back for the next 6 days with hospital staff rolling me onto my side 3 times a day to help stop bedsores and make me more comfortable. I was then fitted with a full body brace that I would have to wear at all times unless I was flat on my back in bed. The next few days, I gradually got used to wearing the brace and the physiotherapist taught my parents and I how to safely fit and remove the brace. For the next 2 months I was only allowed up wearing the brace which made me totally immobile from the head to the pelvis. After 2 months we began the process of weaning me out of the brace, beginning with about 2 hours a day and gradually increasing that until by 3 months post accident, I was free of the brace.
My hair was already long when I had the accident and my Mum and I struggled to wash it effectively while I was in the brace, although we did work out a couple of good methods.
I was really given a reality check after going through my recovery and I know just how lucky I am. I feel so awful for those who are not as fortunate as I am. I decided that when I cut my hair, I would like to use the opportunity to raise funds to help find a cure for spinal cord damage. I will be donating all funds raised to Spinal Cure and donating my hair to the Princess Charlotte Alopecia Society for sufferers of Alopecia to have natural hair wigs made.

It's a scary though to think one day, from no fault of your own, you could possibly be without the use of your legs or worse. Altho it is so much worse than that in some cases and affects not only just you but the people you love and care about the most. I genuinely hope that one day things like spinal cord damage can be a thing of the past.

Please help me to raise funds for this worthy cause and put an end to the spinal trauma.

Donation summary

Total
A$5,315.15
Online
A$5,315.15
Offline
A$0.00

Charities pay a small fee for our service. Learn more about fees