Spinal Cord Injury Awareness Week: Wrap Up

A huge week of highlights across Spinal Cord Injury Awareness Week!

We share what we got up to, what we learnt along the way, and the launch of an exciting new wheelchair sports program at Estara. 

Daily blog insights

Throughout the week we shared some insightful blogs across what’s happening in the research space, occupational therapy and sports, and we caught up with Paralympian Matt Brumby for a chat.

Professor James St John from Griffith University shared some incredible work they are doing in the research space for spinal cord injury. Now in clinical trial, the research uses specialised cells from the nose that support the sense of smell to create living nerve bridges for repairing spinal cord injury.

Estara Clinical Lead, Lloyd Townsend, shared the important role occupational therapy can play in adaptive sport, and how working with an occupational therapist can help people with spinal cord injury to find the right equipment, improve performance and participate safely.

We caught up with Paralympian Matt Brumby to have a chat about his sporting highlights, how Estara has helped support his sports journey and the importance of putting health first. Matt shares his story from his time in the Navy, to the 2026 Milano Paralympics.

For our final blog, we heard from Dr Ryan Dorrian, Researcher at Adelaide University on the work a team of researchers and clinicians at Adelaide University, the Royal Adelaide Hospital and the South Australian Spinal Cord Injury Service are doing around cardiovascular risks and understanding what happens when someone has experienced a spinal cord injury.

You can see the blogs on the links below.

The Recreation and Wellbeing Conference - Tuesday 8th September

Hosted by ABC’s Charles Brice, we held our Recreation and Wellbeing Conference at the Lights Community and Sports Centre. It was a morning filled with insights, research and lived experience stories, as we heard from an amazing line up.  

Starting the day, we welcomed the Her Excellency, the Honourable Frances Adamson AC, Governor of South Australia and Mr Rod Bunten, joint Patrons of Estara. Her Excellency joined Estara Program Lead, Scott Crowley, to officially launch Estara's Wheelchair Community Sports SA program. The program has been made possible by a bequest from the late Roger Munchenberg whose vision was to create more sporting opportunities for people living with spinal cord injury, neurological and related disability. Her Excellency spoke about the importance of staying active, removing the barriers to sport, her own personal passion for supporting programs like this and getting people into sport.

You can visit the Wheelchair Community Sports SA hub here. 

Following the launch, a Sports Panel facilitated by Charles Brice saw para-athletes and Paralympians share their real stories including barries and challenges that come with wheelchair sports at a high-performance level, the ways they have overcome these and some great insights into their sporting careers.  

We met Grace Bowman, para equestrian who told us that sport gave her the opportunity to slip right back into what she was previously doing. “On a horse I look just like everyone else. It helped me reintegrate back into the community and to do something that I loved.” 

Matt Brumby, who recently competed in the 2026 Milano Winter Paralympics, spoke about health. “The healthier you are physically, the healthier you can be mentally.” 

When Charles asked Libby Kosmala, Paralympian shooter, if her world opened up when she started participating in wheelchair sports, Libby said “Yes, it was wonderful meeting other people on wheels. Sport is so important for disabled people. It keeps us so much fitter. I don’t think I’d be around if I didn’t have my sporting life.” 

Richard Davis, who competes in para-archery highlighted that the biggest challenge to participating in sport was the cost of equipment. “Now with this program [Estara Wheelchair Community Sports SA], it will be out there, and people will see it and think oh I might want to get into badminton or whatever sport it is.” 

All panellists highlighted that, with a slight adjustment of attitude, para sport can often be integrated into able bodied sport. 

Yvie Eglinton, Access for All Coordinator, Department of Environment and Water, highlighted the mental health benefits of being out in nature. The program includes access and provides information. "We need to build programs to enable people with disability to come to our parks." Yvie shared some great examples from across Kangaroo Island. 

Dr Ryan Dorrian and Dr Ryan Doig both presented comprehensive research updates and asked for participants to get involved.  

Associate Professor Diana Dorstyn spoke about pathways to employment. She told us there is still stigma and discrimination in the workplace, due to misconceptions about employing someone with a disability. She discussed tools and modelling of return to work. 

We would like to thank everyone who attended the conference, in person and online. Thank you to the Hon Frances Adamson AC, Governor of South Australia, Mr Rod Bunton, our host Charles Brice, our speakers, our exhibitors, and the Estara team for a successful event.

A chat with Leith Forrest on 5AA - Wednesday 9th September

Estara’s Spinal Nurse, Rachael Leonardis and Peer Support Mentor, Graham O’Neil joined Leith Forrest in an interview on 5AA Radio to have a chat and share the work Estara is doing to support people in SA living with SCI and why having all of the services under one roof will proved better individualised supports.  

Fun and games at QWERTY 

Estara’s Peer Support Team based at the Repat got involved by hosting a games afternoon in the QWERTY Hub. A great way to support people who are currently in the spinal rehab unit to get out and meet peers, connect and just have some fun! 

Peer support and Spinal Nurses at the RAH

Estara Peer Support Mentor, Graham O’Neil, visited the Royal Adelaide Hospital and presented to the team on the importance of peer support and how Estara is there for people who have just had spinal cord injury. 

Estara Spinal Nurses, Rachael, Wendy and Priya visited the Nurses in the Spinal Injuries Unit at the RAH and presented a session on the specialised work that they do at Estara, sharing the importance of spinal nursing, and what this looks like beyond the hospital.  

What a week that was. We thank everyone for getting involved, for your time to share your perspectives on spinal cord injury, and the progress being made to support South Australians living with spinal cord injury, neurological and related disabilities.