Nicola Wilson's recovery is progressing well, with sensation and movement returning to her lower and upper limbs, following her fall at Badminton on May 7.
The government has confirmed it is funding a new spinal rehabilitation unit in Auckland.
Auckland Spinal Rehabilitation Unit (ASRU) in Ōtara. The new unit will be part of a superclinic in Manukau
Photo: LDR
It will replace the old one near Middlemore Hospital which cares for all patients in the top half of the North Island.
The $110m unit will be part of a new superclinic in Manukau, which will have four theatres, more than 30 clinical outpatient spaces, a radiology hub, a breast-care service, and an expanded dialysis service.
Health Minister Andrew Little said patients would get high-quality, integrated services in a modern, fit-for-purpose building.
A new rehabilitation facility in South Auckland for people with spinal injuries now appears to be one step closer, with the government earmarking $110 million in funding for it.
Spinal Support NZ president Brendan Tourelle.
Photo: Stuff via LDR
But despite a paper from the Ministry of Health outlining its financial support, officials are remaining tight-lipped on the project.
The new unit is expected to replace the existing Auckland Spinal Rehabilitation Unit (ASRU) in Ōtara, which provides services for people with spinal injuries from the central North Island to the Far North.
Local Democracy Reporting understands the proposed unit is also expected to cater for burns victims and amputees.
Sponsored by:
Maija Vance, the jockey who was told she would never walk again after a horrific race fall, has started riding trackwork in the latest stage of an extraordinary recovery from life-changing injuries.
In September 2018 the 29-year-old suffered 13 rib fractures and broke her back in five places with the T8 vertebra crushing her spinal cord and leaving her with no feeling or movement from the waist down.
Now she is riding out for trainer Tarissa Mitchell and even talking of one day “riding on racedays” again.
“I m doing really good,” she said in an interview with Radio TAB Australia. “I ve been working very closely with my physio, trying to get back to riding racehorses. So I ve just started back on the track now and it s going really, really well.