Spinal Health Week - Lisa Cox

My name is Lisa and I’m a member of the Griffith University Inclusive Futures Reimagining Disability Engagement Council. It’s a position I love, because I get to work alongside other passionate people who also want to use their lived-experience with disability to create positive systemic change.

A photo of Lisa Cox outdoors in front of a large tree with cascading branches. Lisa is an attractive young blonde woman who uses a wheelchair. Her long flowing hair is curled into soft waves, and cascades over her shoulders. She is wearing a dark blouse and floppy wide brimmed hat. Sitting in her manual wheelchair, Lisa looks up towards the sky and smiles for the camera

I acquired multiple visible and invisible disabilities in my early twenties including a brain injury and amputations. In my experience and without a doubt, it’s all of the things you can’t see, such as chronic pain and fatigue (plus other things related to living in this disabled body) that are far more challenging than my wheelchair, prosthetic or anything you can see.

When I left hospital, I couldn’t wait to start working again. Being productive, using my brain, creating something were all what I loved to do in my previous roles in advertising and media.

I went back to agency life for a while but knew it wasn’t conducive to my ‘new normal’ with disabilities so went out on my own. I had always spent and stil spend a lot of time hunched over a keyboard, which might not be great for my spine but my brain appreciates it. Moving periodically has been the key for me.

I started my business back in early 2010. With a background in business communications, I saw significant gaps in the market where industries could be better working with and serving the disability community. But despite my best efforts, few mainstream businesses wanted to listen.

When I’d enter a corporate environment, people would see my disability (usually my wheelchair) before they had a chance to hear what I had to say or how I could help their business achieve its commercial objectives.

This continued for many years and still happens today, but fortunately, to a lesser degree. Business leaders now understand the need for diversity and inclusion of disability in their content and practices. They are realising that it’s not just a ‘nice thing to do’ and socially responsible but the financial and economic benefits can also be great.

As a result, the same businesses and industries that once told me to go away and to stop dreaming are now the same ones asking me to come and consult to them on disability inclusion.

My husband jokes that I have a “spine of steel” for persevering with work over the years despite the initial rejections and blatant discrimination. But in all honesty, my spine and the muscles and nerves around it probably aren’t in the best condition – despite my vigilante efforts to keep my spinal health in check.

Even though my spine was not injured when I first fell ill and became disabled, I still have a lot of problems with it and am in constant pain.

My body is riddled with arthritis and I had my first hip replacement at age 27. I have peripheral neuropathy (severe nerve pain 24/7) in my remaining right foot and we can’t be sure that my legs are ‘talking to’ my brain properly (because of the brain damage). I often wake in a very uncomfortable position with my spine twisted and spend the day taking pain-killers.

A colour photo of Lisa Cox in a gym sitting on the floor, legs crossed in front of a red wall. Lisa is a young blonde woman with a prosthetic leg. She wears black tights and a patterned sleeveless top, her long blonde hair is pulled up into a high pony tail. She is holding two small dumbbells, looks toward the camera and smiles.

To deal with the constant pain, I’ve found that keeping myself occupied (sometimes with work) or staying active has worked for me. I live near a gym so see my exercise physiologist there each week. Seeing my physiotherapist fortnightly for deep tissue massage, trigger point therapy or dry needling is also beneficial.

Pressure injury prevention has also been an important part of my life with disabilities. I acquired 3 pressure injuries in hospital, including one stage-4 that still causes problems now, nearly two decades after it has healed.

Unfortunately, I have acquired a few since leaving hospital but am far more aware of what to look out for and what to do. Part of this has been because of my ongoing work with public and private healthcare facilities, working with staff and helping to write educational material for patients about pressure injury prevention.

In my own life, I’m also conscious of what I can do with regard to lifestyle interventions to lessen the impact that disability has on me and my loved ones. I’ve consulted dieticians and a great Functional doctor who is also invested in my health holistically – including my spine.

Even though I can pinpoint very specific parts of my body that have been affected by disability (such as my amputated leg), disability affects the whole body and the whole person. Spine and all.

Visit Lisa’s website:
https://lisacox.co

Follow Lisa on social media:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/lisacoxwriter/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lisacox.co/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lisa-cox-217588a/