Spinal Cord Injury Awareness Week 2025 Week wrap-up: connection, learning and community
What a week last week was! International Spinal Cord Injury (SCI) Awareness Week gave us the chance to share practical tips, connect South Australia’s SCI community, and shine a spotlight on the incredible work happening across estara.
Tips, stories and insights
All week we shared new blogs and social posts on some really practical topics:
Preventing falls during transfers for people with Spinal Cord Injury
Accessible Travel with Spinal Cord Injury – lessons from 23 years on the road
Back to Basics: The unsung heroes of spinal cord injury health - bladder, bowel & skin
These resources are now permanently available on our website, so you can revisit them anytime. Huge thanks to Rob, Yvonne, Scott, Kate and Taylor from our Spinal and Specialist Disability Support Team for pulling this great content together.
Tuesday: sport at the Repat
The week kicked off with an afternoon of energy and connection at the Repat, where patients and staff enjoyed an exhibition basketball game (estara vs. Repat), a come-and-try session, and a community BBQ. Thank you to everyone who helped make this event possible, and to our volunteers who kept the BBQ sizzling.
We really appreciated the strong turn-out from our partners, Lifetime Support Authority, and SA Health. Special thanks also to LSA’s Chief Executive, Rick Howe, who opened the match for us, Jon Henschke, Games Delivery Manager, Paralympics Australia for refereeing and Lucinda Bueti, President, South Australian Wheelchair Basketball Association, for loaning of the basketball wheelchairs. It was wonderful to see everyone come together to mark this important week.
Wednesday: estara at the Royal Adelaide Hospital
On Wednesday, Lisa Feder (Chief Operations Officer) headed to the RAH to share estara’s work with staff and the public. From handing out resources to presenting to clinicians, it was a great opportunity to build awareness and spark conversations.
Thursday: Back to Basics – Virtual Seminar
Our amazing spinal nurses Rachel, Taylor and Wendy hosted an online seminar for clients, staff and community members across the regions. The focus was on skin, bladder and bowel care – essential topics for quality of life and dignity, but often left out of the conversation. The session was full of practical advice and got great engagement.
We’ve uploaded a recorded of the session to YouTube and you can watch it here.
Friday: Back to Basics – Adelaide + Repat Expo
We wrapped up SCI Week with a big Friday (also International SCI Day). In Adelaide, our nurses ran the Back to Basics seminar again – this time in person – with clients and members enjoying lunch, networking and even some free samples from Moo Goo and Coloplast (thank you for joining us!). Meanwhile, our SDS team headed back to the Repat for the SCI Week Expo, showcasing estara’s work and connecting with patients and staff.
A final thank you
SCI Week was a true team effort – from the staff who prepared and presented, to the volunteers and partners who supported each event, and the clients and community members who joined us along the way. Thank you for helping us make it such a memorable week.
If you missed anything, be sure to catch up on our website or follow us on LinkedIn, Facebook and Instagram for highlights.