With Jane hospitalised as the latest victim of a troubled Bobby Beale, the Spinal Injuries Association tell us how they worked with the EastEnders research team and actress Laurie Brett on the storyline.
Every day three people are told the devastating news that they have damaged their spinal cord as a result of accident or illness. Spinal cord injury is life changing and can often mean paralysis from the injury point down, as well as affecting other areas of a person’s health such as temperature control, bladder and bowel management and skin sensitivity.
With more than 40,000 individuals and families in the UK currently living with the impact of spinal cord injury, the condition isn’t well known amongst the wider general public and so we were pleased when the EastEnders team got in touch to say that they would be raising awareness of the condition in an upcoming story line.
A researcher from the EastEnders team first got in contact with SIA back in February and we initially sign posted them to our information and website. With the team keen to ensure that the type of injury and development of how this would pan out was as accurate as possible, we arranged for the team to speak to a Trustee of the charity who is also an Emeritus Consultant in Spinal Injuries. . A spinal cord injured member of staff, Jamie Rhind, who sustained his injury at the age of 19 years old in a diving accident, also visited the EastEnders set to talk to researchers and writers about his own experience of living with spinal cord injury.
In April, we were really excited to welcome a member of the research team and actress Laurie Brett to our Head Office in Milton Keynes. After meeting staff and a short tour of the office with our CEO Sue Browning, Laurie spent several hours talking to one of our Peer Support Officers, Lady-Marie Malcolm-Dawson, and our Telephone Counsellor Helen Smith, about the practical and emotional impact of spinal cord injury.
Lady-Marie became spinal cord injured at level C5/6 in a domestic violence incident. Both the level of injury and the way in which it was caused are similar to Laurie’s character Jane, and so they spent a lot of time talking about how she was initially affected physically and how she felt about the injury. They also talked about the impact on her family, her daily care routine and her return to home and work. Lady-Marie was keen to show Laurie how spinal cord injury does not prevent her in living her life to fullest, and shared how she will be taking part in an upcoming challenge to scale the O2 in June!
Lady-Marie said, “I really enjoyed speaking to Laurie about the life changing impact of spinal cord injury and it is rewarding to know that she could see that life still can be fulfilling after injury.”
We hope that spinal cord injury storyline on EastEnders not only raises awareness and understanding of the full impact of the condition but also that with the right support, active and fulfilling lives after spinal cord injury is entirely possible. We look forward to working with the EastEnders team as the storyline continues to develop and the character returns home and takes on every day challenges.
The Spinal Injuries Association (SIA) is the leading national user-led charity dedicated to helping everyone affected by spinal cord injury to rebuild their lives. If you would like to find out more about spinal cord injury or how we can help individuals and families to rebuild their lives please visit www.spinal.co.uk or call or free Advice Line on 0800 980 0501.
