Spinal Injuries Association (SIA) is a charity that supports spinal cord injured (SCI) people and their families, families like Sharon's. At the end of last year our SCI nurse specialist, Carol, spoke to Sharon about her experience of her late husband's hospital stay.

'My husband Will, who was spinal cord injured after a road accident in 1981, died this year from cancer. He was completely let down by most of the medical professionals. There was just no understanding of his injury. I had to perform his bowel evacuation with no help or basic equipment, not even any wet wipes. There was little privacy and no room for his wheelchair and hoist.'

At a time when good bowel management was more important than ever for Will, Sharon was left to deal with all his care needs.

'I became a 24 hour carer for my husband and felt robbed of the time I should have been Will's wife holding his hand instead of being his sole carer. I was physically and emotionally exhausted. It was the first time we'd asked for help in 36 years and it simply didn't exist. We were completely let down.'

This summer we persuaded the NHS to instruct every hospital trust in England to improve their bowel care procedures for SCI patients.There are 251 NHS Trusts across the country and we have to ensure they are all taking action. Since the Alert was issued, we have been incredibly busy helping Trusts -

> We've sent them our expert guidelines to help write their policy and procedures.

> We've doubled the SIA education programme on neurogenic bowel management professionally accredited courses for healthcare professionals.

Its going to be a big task for an organisation like SIA, contacting all the Trusts again, to find out which ones have met the deadline and meeting the demand for training in the months ahead. But we know it needs to be done if we are to help more families like Will and Sharon.

Now it's over to you, you can help us continue our work with improving the quality of care so families like Will and Sharon's, living with SCI can feel confident in their local NHS Trust. If you want to show your support and are not sure where to start then we have a few ways you can use the festive season to help SIA.

Not sure what to get for your Secret Santa this year? Why not donate the money to SIA and help ensure NHS Trusts take action on safer bowel management. You can also take on a challenge or get together with your local community to fundraise for SIA as we support families not only at Christmas time, but throughout the year and their lives.

Thank you.