Hopefully this will encourage members to stop by the office for a chat when they’re in the area.

We are based not far from the Southern General Hospital at Festival Business Centre, 150 Brand Street, Govan G51 1DH, and are always happy to receive visitors.

We have begun preparing a project to update and refresh the main SIS website and we would encourage any interested SIS members to send us their thoughts on what they would like to see. Are there sections you would like to find out more about? Are there functions you feel we could add to improve your use of the site?

Work on Clober Farm is under way and we hope to have this ready to welcome our first guests in the Spring. Please keep up to date with all of the developments on the dedicated Clober Farm section of this site. Updates and images will be posted every fortnight. If you receive Newsline through the post you should have received a questionnaire card to register your views and specific areas of interest. If you would like to receive a copy of this please let us know your preferred format. If you would like to find out more about using Clober Farm, don’t hesitate to contact the SIS Office.

If any of our readers, registered members, or members of the general public would like to find out more about what we have scheduled for 2012 please get in touch through the office.

info@sisonline.org

Driving in winter is challenging at the best of times but if you are in the car and are unfortunate to be caught on a flooded or snow covered road hopefully the following preparations will help you.

How do you deal with bladder control? Do you use intermittent catheters or do you have a leg bag that will require emptying?

Carry extra catheters in the car with you, not only in your bag but in the car just in case you need to use more than you would normally carry with you. It might also be worth carrying a couple of overnight drainage bags in case you have to empty a leg bag or use with a catheter.

You might think you are going to loose dignity by using a catheter in the car but I am sure this would be far better than having an accident.

Remember to take the overnight bag out of the vehicle with you when you leave as you don’t want that freezing overnight.

If you use medication, carry spare medication in your car but remember to change it regularly as it will go out of date.

Carry a blanket or extra clothing in the car as you might get into a situation where you are not able to keep the car running so extra clothes will help keep you warmer than you would have been.

Keep a spare pair of warm gloves in the car for occasion like this as well but if you use them, remember to put them back.

Always carry something to drink with you but be careful not to leave full bottles in the car as they might freeze over night and possibly burst. This not only means that you have lost your drink but you might also have soaked the car.

Always carry an ice scraper in the car with you as well as de-icer as you never know how quickly a frost can set in. You can get ice scrapers with extended handles on them to help reach the centre of the screen and some have brushes on as well to help clear snow off your car.

If you are able to, check your washer bottle is topped up in the car with plenty of screen wash added. Most screen washes have an anti freeze agent added to them so this will hopefully stop the windscreen from freezing up after it has been defrosted.

These are only a few things I have done over the years but if you have any more tips that other could benefit from, please let us know.

This is obviously not an exhaustive list by any means so feel free to get in touch with any tips you have and we can share them with others.

On the 11^th of November the Spinal Injuries Scotland Winter Dinner Dance courtesy of Digby Brown was held at The Thistle Hotel in Glasgow. Over 400 guests were treated to a night of fun, entertainment and just the right amount of education courtesy of a range of speakers and acts on the night. Guests were invited to take part in the casino, prize draw and tombola. Prizes ranged from a knitted doll portraying a paramedic to a brand new Nissan Pixo car! Another feature of the evening was the silent auction. Up for grabs were items such as signed football jerseys, luxury cottage breaks, VIP tickets to music and theatre shows and 2 hours of tattooing time amongst many others. 

We were delighted to see so many SIS supporters and members alike in attendance. The special guest for the evening was comedienne Ruby Wax, who brought her customary brand of humour.  Ruby launched into an equally hilarious and candid routine about her experiences of depression and mental illness. Talking about his own experience of spinal injury was athlete and SIS member Kenny Herriot. Kenny’s message and spirit hit home with the audience, highlighting the effects of a spinal injury and also the need for a determined and positive attitude. Kenny and Clober Farm Project Coordinator Shaun Dargan spoke of their cross country cycle which took place in August.

Also included on the night was a live version of the Noel Edmonds game show ‘Deal or No Deal’, which saw the lucky winner take away £1111.11, the sum chosen to reflect the date of the event.   

The evening came to close with the announcement of the raffle winner – who got to drive off in the brand new Nissan Pixo donated by Digby Brown. As much as the Winter Dinner Dance is a celebration and a brilliant evening of glitz and glamour, it is also phenomenally important in gaining extra support and raising awareness. Without the generous contributions of all involved we would never be able to raise the funds necessary to continue and expand on our work. Speaking of which, the total raised from the event was …..£55,000!!! In the current economic climate this is an exceptional amount of money to come from this type of event. Everyone at SIS would like to thank all of those who took part in making the event a success once again.

To find out more and contribute please see Chris’ Just Giving page!

http://www.justgiving.com/Christopher-Thomson

AT NAIDEX SCOTLAND, SECC,GLASGOW

OPENING TIMES:  10am-4pm BOTH DAYS

FREE ENTRY to FIND OUT MORE ABOUT

WHEELCHAIR ACCESSIBLE VEHICLES AND ADAPATIONS, LIVING AIDS, HYGIENE, CLOTHING, COMMUNICATION, SAFETY, FURNITURE, LEISURE, HOLIDAYS

AS WELL AS

A seminar presentation by SIS about making sense of welfare support from a historic perspective (personal account) as well as challenging some of the statistical and factual data supporting the welfare reforms, with some light hearted humour to emphasis inconsistencies in the proposals.

Register for FREE ENTRY at www.naidex.co.uk/scotland2011

Michael Kerr (left)

We recently highlighted Michael Kerr’s success in being selected for the Great Britain Wheelchair Rugby squad. The story continues now with an interview by the BBC. The SIS office was contacted by Journalist Martin Dougan last week for information on Wheelchair Rugby. Who better than Scotland’s only Representative in the GB Squad!?

Michael said “Its been a great period recently. Training has been going really well and I’m still on cloud nine from being announced in the GB squad, its a great feeling to know I will be representing Scotland on an International stage.”

Michael has been working closely with SIS over the years from providing peer support to attending relatives events, and more recently finding out more about how he could promote the charity through his status as an athlete. He said “I had two phone calls last week from the SIS office and both have lead to some great opportunities. The first call was to tell me I had been invited to the Scotland Rugby Team’s send off Dinner for the World Cup. This was a great event put on by the charity Hearts and Balls. The next thing I know the office called to say that the BBC were going to get in touch for an interview.”

In the build up to London 2012 Paralympics, we are certain to be hearing and seeing more of Michael. “I’ve been working alot in promoting Wheelchair Rugby together with SIS, it’s something I find really rewarding and can have so many benefits for those who take part”

If anyone is interested in getting involved in Wheelchair Rugby or to find out more about Michael feel free to get in touch with the SIS office.

See the link below for the full interview.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/scotland/14693044.stm

We are looking for people with paraplegia to take part.

It is believed that neuropathic pain originates in a person’s brain rather than in their body. We will use an electroencephalograph (EEG), a device for the non-invasive recording of brain activity to investigate characteristics of brain waves which are a consequence of neuropathic pain. For this study we need both volunteers with and without neuropathic pain.

There are two phases to the study. All volunteers will participate in Phase 1. Only 5 selected volunteers from Phase 1, with neuropathic pain, will participate in Phase 2. Phase 2 is an experimental pain treatment based on neurofeedback therapy.  If you decide to participate in Phase 1, we would like you to attend one EEG recording session at the Queen Elizabeth National Spinal Injuries Unit, lasting approximately 2 hours. Volunteers with neuropathic pain who choose to participate in Phase 2 will attend up to 40 treatment sessions at the spinal unit, each lasting about 30 min. In Phase 2 we will record your EEG and show you instantly the recorded brain activity on a computer screen (called neurofeedback). You will be trained to modulate your brain waves, in a way that can potentially reduce your pain.

If you are between 18 and 50 years of age, have had a spinal cord injury leading to paraplegia, and would like more information about the project, please contact Dr Vuckovic by telephone on 079 0644 1955 or 0141 232 7884 or  by e-mail at:

Aleksandra.Vuckovic@glasgow.ac.uk

You may be aware of the Cycle for Clober farm event beginning next week ,with SIS Project Coordinator Shaun Dargan and Athlete Kenny Herriot cycling and hand cycling across Scotland. The guys will be visiting the Queen Elizabeth National Spinal Injury Unit on Sunday 7th to meet with well wishers and supporters. The team will be setting off from the unit at around 2:30pm for anyone wishing to give their best to the team.

If you can’t make it along why not make a donation by texting SISC52 £3 to 70070.

The BBC have been involved this week by assisting the guys and a short documentary will capture their efforts along the way.

More to come as they set off from the Mull of Galloway in the early hours of Monday 8th August.

Good luck guys!