Hope

Hope releases unprecedented strength. How do you learn to trust your own inner strength?

“I’ve had a spinal cord injury since 1977 following a supposedly minor fall when skiing. The diagnosis was a fracture of the sixth and seventh cervical vertebrae. For me, this meant tetraplegia with paralysis and a loss of sensation in all four limbs. I was 28 years old. At the time, my wife Françoise and I were parents to our four-year-old daughter and were expecting another child. I was given a life expectancy of fourteen years...

During nine months of rehabilitation, I used an iron will to fight my way back to a certain degree of independence. It goes without saying that during this time I asked myself: “Is it even worth the effort?” My answer was an unconditional “yes”.”

Romina Miracco coordinated the Ethics Forum at the Swiss Paraplegic Centre. With her colleagues in the Forum, the specialised nurse looked at the issue of hope in great depth and developed numerous measures for day-to-day therapy. Romina Miracco tells us why the power of hope is important to her.