What I learned from my spinal cord injury – notes from a surgeon
04/20/23 • 44 min
In this inspirational episode, we have the privilege of hearing the unique patient perspective of a surgeon who operated on SCI patients prior to his own spinal injury. Mr Mohammed Belal is a consultant urologist who has treated many SCI patients during his medical career. In 2021 he had a cycling accident and sustained a spinal cord injury which saw him undergo many months of rehabilitation and treatment. He has recently returned to work as a surgeon. Here, he speaks with Dr Jane Duff, a consultant clinical psychologist at the National Spinal Injuries Centre, Stoke Mandeville Hospital, and ISCoS President-Elect, Dr Ali Jamous about his journey.
A positive mental outlook has been fundamental to Mr Belal’s ongoing recovery and rehabilitation, which he categorises into three key strands: the physical, mental and spiritual. Goal setting and managing expectations have also been important, recognising that rehabilitation is an ongoing process and that new challenges will arise along the way. His experience as a surgeon has clearly helped with this in terms of his in-depth knowledge of SCI care, but also in his disciplined and driven approach to recovery. He explains that one can maintain a positive mindset by seeing challenges as problems to be solved rather than insurmountable obstacles.
“That's the beauty of about life. It's the challenges that really keep you going.”
Mr Belal also shares his honest views on the challenges of accessing community care and rehabilitation services after discharge, and the frustrations around this. He explains how clinicians can help by giving patients a sense of purpose with clear goals for rehabilitation. His own approach as a surgeon has certainly changed when it comes to understanding the profound changes and uncertainty his patients are dealing with.
“It's certainly made me a better doctor”.
This episode is a must for both SCI clinicians and patients as Mr Belal shares his vital insights and take-away messages from both sides of the experience. In particular, he highlights the importance of communication and empathy; managing acceptance and uncertainty with a positive outlook; and, crucially, holding on to gratitude and hope.
The opinions of our host and guests are their own; ISCoS does not endorse any individual viewpoints, given products or companies.
You can follow us on Twitter and LinkedIn
The SCI Care: What Really Matters podcast aims to provide valuable insights and the most up-to-date information for those providing care to people with spinal cord injury (SCI) worldwide. The vision of the International Spinal Cord Society (ISCoS) is to "facilitate healthy and inclusive lives for people with spinal cord injury or dysfunction globally".
Contact us directly with any questions or comments at [email protected]
In this inspirational episode, we have the privilege of hearing the unique patient perspective of a surgeon who operated on SCI patients prior to his own spinal injury. Mr Mohammed Belal is a consultant urologist who has treated many SCI patients during his medical career. In 2021 he had a cycling accident and sustained a spinal cord injury which saw him undergo many months of rehabilitation and treatment. He has recently returned to work as a surgeon. Here, he speaks with Dr Jane Duff, a consultant clinical psychologist at the National Spinal Injuries Centre, Stoke Mandeville Hospital, and ISCoS President-Elect, Dr Ali Jamous about his journey.
A positive mental outlook has been fundamental to Mr Belal’s ongoing recovery and rehabilitation, which he categorises into three key strands: the physical, mental and spiritual. Goal setting and managing expectations have also been important, recognising that rehabilitation is an ongoing process and that new challenges will arise along the way. His experience as a surgeon has clearly helped with this in terms of his in-depth knowledge of SCI care, but also in his disciplined and driven approach to recovery. He explains that one can maintain a positive mindset by seeing challenges as problems to be solved rather than insurmountable obstacles.
“That's the beauty of about life. It's the challenges that really keep you going.”
Mr Belal also shares his honest views on the challenges of accessing community care and rehabilitation services after discharge, and the frustrations around this. He explains how clinicians can help by giving patients a sense of purpose with clear goals for rehabilitation. His own approach as a surgeon has certainly changed when it comes to understanding the profound changes and uncertainty his patients are dealing with.
“It's certainly made me a better doctor”.
This episode is a must for both SCI clinicians and patients as Mr Belal shares his vital insights and take-away messages from both sides of the experience. In particular, he highlights the importance of communication and empathy; managing acceptance and uncertainty with a positive outlook; and, crucially, holding on to gratitude and hope.
The opinions of our host and guests are their own; ISCoS does not endorse any individual viewpoints, given products or companies.
You can follow us on Twitter and LinkedIn
The SCI Care: What Really Matters podcast aims to provide valuable insights and the most up-to-date information for those providing care to people with spinal cord injury (SCI) worldwide. The vision of the International Spinal Cord Society (ISCoS) is to "facilitate healthy and inclusive lives for people with spinal cord injury or dysfunction globally".
Contact us directly with any questions or comments at [email protected]
Previous Episode
Transformative Therapies for Chronic Spinal Cord Injury: The Role of Transcutaneous Spinal Stimulation in SCI Care
In this episode of ‘SCI Care: What Really Matters’ we focus on sharing information on the technological innovations in our field with a discussion about transcutaneous spinal stimulation (TSS).
Our guest host for this episode is Dr Daniel Graves, Professor and Associate Dean of Research at the College of Rehabilitation Sciences and Vice-chairman of Rehabilitation Medicine at Thomas Jefferson University's Sidney Kimmel Medical College in Philadelphia. He is joined by Yi-Kai Lo, PhD, CEO and Co-Founder of ANEUVO, the developers of ExaStim TSS. After working for many years in the electrical stimulation research field, Yi-Kai Lo realised there was a gap when it came to better technologies and tools for SCI patients, and he has made it his mission to bridge this gap by targeting the technology at this specific group of patients. Our second guest is Dr Rebecca Martin, OTR/L, OTD Manager of Clinical Education and Training at the Kennedy Krieger Institute in Baltimore. Dr Martin previously worked as an occupational therapist before moving into research, motivated by the desire to find better treatment solutions for her patients.
Together this panel discuss the role of transcutaneous spinal stimulation (TSS) in the SCI continuum of care, treatment goals for TSS, the current state of research, what patients are good candidates for TSS therapy and how to set expectations regarding patient outcomes, as it is important to manage patient expectations with this treatment, recognising that it is not a cure, but rather a complement to ongoing treatment and rehabilitation programmes.
There is still much to learn about the possible outcomes of TSS, but the early signs are promising, particularly in terms of those areas which are a high priority for patients, such as bowel and bladder function. Any improvement in these areas makes a real difference to patients’ quality of life.
Listen to the full episode to learn more about developments in this research area.
The opinions of our host and guests are their own; ISCoS does not endorse any individual viewpoints, given products or companies.
You can follow us on Twitter and LinkedIn
The SCI Care: What Really Matters podcast aims to provide valuable insights and the most up-to-date information for those providing care to people with spinal cord injury (SCI) worldwide. The vision of the International Spinal Cord Society (ISCoS) is to "facilitate healthy and inclusive lives for people with spinal cord injury or dysfunction globally".
Contact us directly with any questions or comments at [email protected]
Next Episode
In conversation with Richard Peter - Praxis Indigenous People's Liaison
In this bonus conversation, Prof Ruth Marshall talks with Praxis Indigenous People’s Liaison Richard Peter.
The opinions of our host and guests are their own; ISCoS does not endorse any individual viewpoints, given products or companies.
You can follow us on Twitter and LinkedIn
The SCI Care: What Really Matters podcast aims to provide valuable insights and the most up-to-date information for those providing care to people with spinal cord injury (SCI) worldwide. The vision of the International Spinal Cord Society (ISCoS) is to "facilitate healthy and inclusive lives for people with spinal cord injury or dysfunction globally".
Contact us directly with any questions or comments at [email protected]
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