News
2nd February, 2021
Riding for spinal cure Australia
On Thursday 10 December 2020 Paramedic and Victorian Ambulance Union Incorporated member Emma Mickle left Melbourne to ride her bike to Canberra to raise money for Spinal Cure Australia. What made Emma’s story truly remarkable is that she will be doing this after sustaining spinal cord damage herself.
Following an accident in New Zealand in January 2020 Emma was left with a fractured skull, jaw, clavicle, humerus, 6 ribs, wrist, hand and ankle, as well as 3 broken vertebrae.
Emma had multiple surgeries to correct her injuries and had to re-learn how to walk. Soon after she started swimming and now has just returned from her trip to Canberra – a distance of over 925km. Her goal was to raise $25,000 for spinal cure research. But she ended up raising over $28,000.
Spinal Cure’s next project is funding a much needed clinical trial starting early next year in Sydney. The trial uses neurostimulation to “wake up” connections between the brain and body. This area of research is exciting as it has the potential to allow people to regain bladder/bowel function, sensory function and even motor function.
