wheeler wheelchairs. The

wheelchairs were provid-

ed by Motivation UK.

Whereas, five received

wheelchairs from other

partnering organisations.

All new patients were

provided with wheelchair

supportive cushions.

Some received, Tenodesis

belt, universal cuff and

wheelchair gloves.

All the patients were

treated successfully with

the patients’ full satisfac-

tion and therapists were

successful in achieving

the functional outcome as

per SCIM chart.

During the month of

April, eight male and

seven female patients

were admitted to the

Centre. Twelve were

paraplegic and three

were quadriplegic. Four

came with pressure ul-

cers during admission.

Three of the patients

sustained spinal cord

injury due to fall from

tree whereas other caus-

es were: Road Traffic

Accident (3), fall from

cliff (3), fall from build-

ing (4), impact by rock

(1) and Potts’ Spine (1).

A total of eight patients

were discharged in good

health this month after

complete and compre-

hensive rehabilitation.

Four left against medical

advice (LAMA) and two

were discharged on re-

quest (DoR). The aver-

age duration of stay of

the discharged patients

was 107 days, with dura-

tions ranging from 33 to

302 days.

During the month, pa-

tients and caregivers also

received educational

classes on Activities of

Daily Living (ADL) and

presentation on assistive

technology. Similarly,

two received three-

Our Patients

Other Activities

Spinal Centre celebrated its 12th Anni-

versary on 7th April with Staff, volun-

teers, patients and caregivers. Several

activities were held for entertainment

and recreation, including the interest-

ing and inclusive game of bocce ball.

The Spinal family also celebrated the

Day with special dish.

A Silent Auction followed by Gala

Dinner was held at Yala Maya Kendra,

Patan for the first time to raise funds

for the Centre. Staff, Board Members

and well-wishers were present that

evening. The money raised at this event

will benefit the patients of Spinal Injury

Rehabilitation Centre. To know more

about the Silent Auction, please visit

the below link.

techoutsolutions.com/sirc/?p=605

Ram Bahadur Tamang successfully

traveled 366 kms starting from

Namobuddha to Lumbini in 26 days.

His supporters came from different parts

of the country to welcome him at Maya-

devi Temple, Lumbini, the birth place of

lord Buddha. This was a very emotional

moment for Ram and a moment of joy

and pride for his family, friends and sup-

porters. Thank you team Sanu Maya Ta-

mang (wife), Prajwal Ghimire and Binod

Karki. We would like to thank all the indi-

viduals and organisations who made it

possible for Ram to complete this journey

and thanks to Ajit Man Tamang and the

team of Lumbini Development Trust for

making the completion ceremony of

Ram’s wheelchair yaatra very special and

memorable Special thank goes to Ms.

Rosalind Russell from America, without

her support, this Yaatra wouldn't be mate-

rialized. Contd….page 2

Volume : 1 Issue : 1 2 April 2014

Tel:- 011-660847/660848 Website:- www.sirc.org.np

Spinal Khabar / स्पाईनल खबर Monthly Newsletter of Spinal Injury Rehabilitation Centre

Tel:- 011-660847/660848 Website:- www.sirc.org.np

Mr. Bishnu Pd. Ghimire from Nursing Mr. Devendra Dhital from OT

Completion of Ram’s Wheelchair

Yaatra at Lumbini.

Page 1

Page 2

Other Activities (Contd.)

A meeting was held among pa-

tients, caregivers and Spinal Cen-

tre’s administration with an aim to

provide more effective and better

service for patients and their car-

er.

Our three passionate Interns Bi-

nay Shrestha, Nikita Kayastha and

Rojina Dahal, from ACE Institute

of Management completed their

three months Internship success-

fully. They supported in different

fundraising events of the Centre

as well as helped in updating the

websites, blogs and many more.

We would like to thank all three

for their help and wish our best

for their future endeavors.

Dr. Giselle from America came for

a visit gave a lecture about Alz-

heimer and Parkinson disease.

Medical, nursing and therapy team

were benefited through her presen-

tation.

Our enthusiastic Canadian volun-

teer Kate Coffey left Spinal Centre

this month. She was here for six

month and helped in activities and

event of the Centre. She supported

us on strategic planning and fund-

raising. We would like to thank

Ms. Coffey for her great dedication

and wish for her comeback.

Karen Hilton, a friend of Kate

Coffey, from Canada, volunteered

at Spinal Centre for two weeks in

Human Resource (HR) department

and also helped in development of

communication and in fundraising

event. We would like to thank her for

her great support.

Multi Disciplinary Team (MDT)

Plan for next month:

Regular Spinal Cord Injury Inde-

pendent Measurement (SCIM), goal

setting, case presentation and rehab

round.

Training on Neuro-Rehabilitation for

50 health care workers.

Home Modification at Kathmandu.

Wheelchair follow-up.

Case of the Month

Manoj Dong

apy and motivation from nurs-

es, patients and volunteers. Dur-

ing his stay, he had very posi-

tive attitude towards all at Spi-

nal Centre. Within a few

months, the Therapists were

successful in helping Manoj re-

gain his balance, enabling him

to perform activities of daily

living, Independent in Wheel-

chair, even play a wheelchair

Basketball!

Mid last month, prior to his dis-

charge, we are all pleased with

the progress Manoj showed dur-

ing rehabilitation at our Centre.

His stay at Spinal Centre was

unique and pleasant for all. This

month, Manoj left our Centre

with his supportive wife to con-

tinue his work back home.

Manoj Dong is 42 years old agri-

cultural worker from Ramechhap.

Life was going on well for the

Dong family until Manoj sus-

tained spinal cord injury by falling

from the tree.

Following the accident, Manoj

was rushed to nearby Health Post

from where he was referred to Ne-

pal Orthopedic Hospital (NOH)

for treatment.. He was diagnosed

with compression fractured L2

with AIS-B.

Manoj was surgically managed

with Posterior instrumentation for

his injury, which strengthened his

back. Manoj’s condition brought

massive sorrow to the Dong fami-

ly. On December 2013, Manoj

was brought to Spinal Centre for

comprehensive rehabilitation.

Manoj spent seven months at Spi-

nal Centre, receiving regular ther-

Page 3

Ram Bahadur Tamang’s Wheelchair Yaatra: A great Success!

Ram underwent a

spinal injury 3

years ago when he

was 28 years old

which forced him

to use a wheel-

chair. He is now 31

and is a vocational

trainer at Spinal

Centre where he is responsible for training patients

and their carers to produce high quality handi-

crafts. Alongside, his employment he has cam-

paigned hard to raise awareness of SCI in Nepal and

for the government to improve the support which

they provide to person with disabilities.

Ram tells a powerful story of how he himself has

been victim of neglect in Nepalese society: ‘When I

used to wait for the public bus to go home, I was al-

ways deprived of the ride for being a paraplegic in a

wheelchair. Unluckily, I could see people lifting po-

tato bags weighing over 100 kilos; but they refused to

carry my half-paralysed body and wheelchair, both

weighing less than half a potato bag! This got me

thinking for a couple of weeks and I decided that the

voices of the spinally injured people must be heard.

The Yaatra

In Hindu culture a Yaatra is a convoy with strong

spiritual connotations. Often it is a way of achieving

inner peace

but can be

used as a form

of protest, and

this is the

same case

with Ram. He

was a bit sad

with the way

disabled people are treated in Nepal, and decided to

raise up his campaign efforts by going on a 366 kms

Wheelchair Yaatra from Namo Buddha to Lumbini

across Nepal on 24th March 2014. It is not only the

massive distance which pose a challenge but the

enormous inclines. Nepal sits right on top of the Him-

alayas, one of the most beautiful and formidable

mountain ranges in the world, they are of course

home to the famous Mt. Everest.

Ram has touched people’s hearts during this Yaatra.

He has had regular supportive

horn honking on the roads

and even had a tearful man

present him with a bouquet of

flowers in admiration for his

courage. He has also had a

visit from the famous Nepali

folk singer, Hari Yonzon,

who heard about Ram’s story

on the news and decided he

had to visit him personally.

On route Ram has also met with other disabled people,

some of whom are coping well and are employed as

lecturers or teachers,

such as Ramesh

Chandra Pandey. Un-

fortunately however

he has also met some

people living with

spinal injury who

have never received

rehabilitation ser-

vices, and as a result are confined to their homes. Tej

Bahadur Nepali, for example, has been confined to his

bed at home in Dhumkibas village for the past 10

years.

Ram successfully completed his 366 kms Wheelchair

Yaatra on 18th April 2014, at Mayadevi Temple of

Lumbini, the birth place of Gautam Buddha after 26

days.

Visit here for further information https://www.facebook.com/

SpinalNepal

Page 4

Photo Gallery

Wheelchair follow-up at Kathmandu

Patients and trainers engaged in Vocational Training Session

Our three enthusiastic volunteer Binay, Nikita and Rojina

Home Modification at Kavre

Thank you for your support: Himalayan Bank Ltd. Kamaladi.

Annapurna Travels and Tours,

Ghantaghar.

Hotel De’ L Annapurna Pvt Ltd, Dur-

bar Marg.

Mr. Padma Jyoti & Mrs. Meera Jyoti.

Mr. Prachanda Bahadur Shrestha and

Mrs. Sabita Shrestha.

NIC Asia Bank Ltd. Thapathali

Non Resident Nepalese Association.

( NRNA)

Cecile Knapp, and Andreas Knapp.

Mr. Romain Zens.

Mr. Francois Schmitz-Schmit,.

German Nepal Help Association

(GNHA)

Friends of Spinal Injury Rehabilitation

Centre

Useful Links:

Facebook: Spinal Nepal

SIRC video: https://vimeo.com/channels/dmw/57165491

ASCoN e-learning: www.elearnsci.org

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=VHXJ2Wzt3A0

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=scdswbSYB1c

Entertaining at Silent Auction Patient outing programme at Chandeshwori temple