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CHAPTER 37
spirit so necessary to succeed in both business and normal daily life. All in all it is a
marvellous life and it has proved to me that a wheelchair invokes almost no limitations
and one can enjoy a normal family and business life—
ifyou really want to.'
These are only a few examples, to which many more could be added, to outstanding
achievements of paraplegics.
Like able-bodied persons who are interested in the welfare of their fellow-men and
are engaged in communal and social work, spinal paraplegics have also taken up social
activities and are doing most valuable and essential workwithin the community, and have
occupied important positions. Amongst them two have been elected mayors of their
towns. One of our female patients is particularly interested in the education of Borstal
boys and has been doing excellent work in a Borstal institution. She has also become
president of the Red Cross Organization in her county and, on account of her social
work, has become a Baroness and has taken her seat in the House of Lords. She and two
other former patients of the Stoke Mandeville Centre have taken a leading part in the
debate on the recent Chronically Sick and Disabled Persons Bill, which has now been
accepted by the Houses of Parliament and become an Act. She received her paraplegia
as a result of a riding accident. She became very soon interested in sport and became
outstanding in swimming and table tennis and took part in many national and inter
national competitions with great success.
Our own results achieved in the social and industrial rehabilitation of paraplegics
have been published since 1946 (Guttmann, 1946-68; Scruton, 1954). In recent years
reports on the social aspects of paraplegics and tetraplegics, including domestic and
industrial resettlement, have been published in increasing numbers, which just reveal
the ever-increasing importance of spinal paraplegia and tetraplegia as a social problem.
Hardy (1964) and Meinecke (1964) stressed the difficulties in the industrial resettlement
of coalminers in Great Britain and Germany respectively, partly caused by high pensions
and sickness benefit. Maury (1964) reported the results of a survey on the home condi
tions of his first 250 patients in France. Twenty-nine per cent of the patients were not
able to get out of their homes by themselves because of architectural barriers and one-
third had lavatories which they could not use. Tricot (1964) reported about a survey on
the housing conditions in Belgium. As a result of this survey the Superior Council of
the Institute du Lagement took immediate steps to adjust homes and houses for the
special needs of neuro-motor disabled people. Damanski (1964) reporting on 300 patients
showed a low percentage of cases being employed mainly owing to the high proportion
of tetraplegics (107 out of 300). Thompson & Murray (1967) and Meine (1970) published
surveys on paraplegics living at home and, in particular, that of Thompson and Murray
is a comprehensive study of the conditions in Scotland. While in Great Britain for many
years ex-service pensioners are surveyed regularly by medical and social workers, there
is still a great lack of after-care for civilian paraplegics and tetraplegics in this respect.
Unfortunately, spinal centres have not sufficient staff to carry out such surveys at the
homes of paraplegics and tetraplegics themselves which would be, of course, the best
guarantee for detailed assessment.
