About the Apparelyzed Website and Creator

When was the site started?

This site was initially created in August 2003, to allow people to buy T-Shirts and other apparel regarding Spinal Cord Injury humour (hence the name, Apparelyzed!). The site has since grown organically into something larger, and now covers Spinal Cord Injury Anatomy, a spinal cord injury discussion forum, SCI Research area as well as a carefully picked links directory.

Who funds the site?

The apparel side of the site is now pretty much a by-product, but does help finance the running costs of the site. As Apparelyzed receives no grants, advertising revenue or third party finance to fund its ongoing costs, it's felt the site is more impartial than other sites, and is able to give an unbiased opinion on all aspects surrounding spinal cord injuries.

Any outstanding costs of this site are paid for personally by the owner - me!

About the site owner

Simon, that’s me, the site creator of Apparelyzed is a C5/6 Quadriplegic, who was a front seat passenger injured in a road traffic accident in Leicestershire in January 1992. The accident resulted in a burst fracture of C5, resulting in complete motor paralysis below C5/6, with sensory sparing. I am now classed in medical terms a Quadraplegic, as my paralysis affects both my arms and legs. Road traffic accidents are now the most common cause of people suffering a spinal injury and becoming a Paraplegic or Quadraplegic.

Following the accident I was admitted to the Queen’s Medical Centre in Nottingham, and transfered 3 days later to Lodge Moore Spinal Unit in Sheffield. I then spent 12 months in rehabilitation and returned home on the 24th December 1992. Whilst in hospital I met a nurse called Karen, and in 1995 we were married, in 1999 we had our daughter Charlotte.

Why bother?

The whole point of creating this website is to raise disability awareness and share life experiences between disabled people and their carers. The designs I have created in the portfolio hopefully express some of the general mistakes, and misunderstandings made by abled bodied people about disabled people, and provide imagery to stimulate further discussion. As you will see as you navigate the site, my humour can be a little dark, but it will hopefully put a smile on your face, or at the very least, give you something to think about!

Although my disability is as the result of a spinal cord injury, my experiences as a wheelchair user are equally common to people suffering from other illnesses resulting in the person being confined to a wheelchair. Such examples are Cerebral Palsy, Multiple Sclerosis, Lou Gehrig's Disease (ALS), Amputee's, and a whole range of other medical illnesses.

In short, if one of my designs makes someone more considerate towards a disabled person, helps disabled people in their everyday lives, or one of my designs generates constructive discussions about the topics depicted, then this site will of achieved what it was intended to do.

The UK Spinal Unit Reunion Forum and Directory

The UK Spinal Unit Reunion Forum and Directory was created following a stay in hospital, as after talking to people, it became apparent there was no resource available for ex-spinal patients to keep in touch once they had been discharged. When a person suffers a spinal cord injury, they usually spend many months in acute and rehabilitation stages of recovery, usually in the same spinal unit. As a result, the unit becomes a second home for many patients and their families, whilst rehabilitation and treatment takes place.

Over these months, a community develops within the spinal unit, which can become very close knit, and many friends are made over the duration as an inpatient. Of course, once the patient leaves the spinal unit to carry on with their own lives, they generally lose contact with the many friends they made in their spinal unit.

I therefore thought it would be a great idea if there was a central resource for all Spinal Units in the UK for patients and friends, past and present to contact each other. Maybe you are wondering what ever happened to friends you made in the units you were in, well, post a request, or a little about yourself and you may get back in touch with friends old and new.

The support forum has now grown into one of the most active discussion forums dedicated to spinal cord injuries on the internet worldwide.

Talk to us

Please note that all enquiries to do with orders should be made through Cafepress as per your order confirmation details.

If you wish to discuss any aspects of this website or Spinal Cord Injuries, please email us at contact@apparelyzed.com

Thankyou