A Personal Letter From Our Co-Chair, Alex

Dear Walkabout Friends,

I was 16 when my life was turned upside down by a car accident that left me completely paralysed from the waist down. Thankfully, I was able to receive fantastic rehabilitation care and found a way to get on with my life – although from then on in a wheelchair.

Inspired by others, like Walkabout Founder Luis and his adventures on the Camino de Santiago, I have always strived to make the most out of life despite my disability. And I’ve certainly had fun while doing that. But being paralysed is not just being confined to a wheelchair, there are many less visible but more frustrating side effects, like incontinence, persistent 

urinary tract infections, and phantom pains, that are not so fun to deal with. 

The research that Walkabout Foundation is funding is not only helping to get people walking again, but also perhaps as importantly, it helps those with Spinal Cord Injury better manage those secondary side effects. Although that may not seem like the “breakthrough” people imagine, it is a real game-changer for people with paralysis, enabling them to focus on all the opportunities that life still has to offer.

Today, I kindly ask you on behalf of the millions of people like me who live with a SCI and paralysis, to consider making a donation to the groundbreaking research Walkabout is funding, knowing that 100% of it will go towards the labs that so desperately need our support.

Love, Alex