Leaving a gift to Stoke Mandeville Spinal Research (SMSR) in your will is a wonderful way to leave a lasting legacy that will help us realise a future where people with Spinal Cord Injury (SCI) live healthier and more fulfilled lives.

Most people imagine that paralysis means simply being unable to walk; in fact, people living with SCI assure us that there is worse to come – recurrent urinary tract infections (UTIs); chronic neuropathic pain; pressure sores; and limited upper limb function, to name but a few of the devastating complications that affect people’s independence and quality of life.

With your help, SMSR would be able to carry on supporting vital research, which can be truly life changing. Here is just one example of a recent study we funded looking at reducing Urinary Tract Infections:

Up to 68% of people with spinal cord injury suffer from recurrent urinary tract infections. UTIs are a constant source of dread for people with SCI, often leading to long spells of illness and disruption, and in many cases, hospital readmissions.

Researchers at the Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital in Stanmore, London, led a study funded by Stoke Mandeville Spinal Research that allowed people with spinal cord injury to self-administer an antibiotic treatment at home by instilling a solution via catheters directly into their bladder. The results were overwhelmingly positive, with UTIs reduced by 80% in the cohort.

The treatment not only helped prevent the onset of urinary tract infections but also reduced the side effects of antibiotics. Thanks to the success of this small pilot study, the research team is now seeking to run a full-scale NIHR funded trial, which could give hope to the millions of people who endure UTIs on a regular basis.

Adam Thomas, pictured, one of the trial participants, for whom this trial was a last resort, said, “It saved my career, my marriage and my life, and I haven’t had a UTI since.”

Leaving a gift in your will can be very straight forward. For more information, please download our will guide here.