Spinal trauma patient determined to help dad

World Spine Day was on 16 October and raises awareness about spinal disorders, disease and cancer.

David Cox (22) is a resident of the Ann Harding Cheshire Home in Boskruin. In 2010, when Cox was 16, he woke up one morning unable to move is right arm.

“My arm was completely lame, almost like I had pins and needles,” he explained. “My parents rushed me to the hospital, and they gave me an MRI scan.”

Doctors found a tumour the size of a tennis ball surrounding Cox’s spinal column. The tumour, that had crushed the nerves around his spine, was benign. Four months later, after a series of operations to remove it, he had to learn to walk again.

In the same year, his mother sadly passed away from cancer, leaving his father a single parent.

By 2015, Cox had made such an improvement that he was even able to learn to drive. However, after a series of operations later that year, he was left completely paralysed due to swelling on his brain.

At the time, his peers at King Edward VII School supported him. With that support, he was able to finish his schooling, and even started working towards a degree in psychology at the University of the Witwatersrand, which he aims to finish next year.

The home provides the healthcare that Cox desperately needs, but also does its best to ensure that its residents remain entertained.

“A typical day for me includes physio, lunch and chats with the other residents.”

He misses home quite a lot, but as Cox said, “I am lucky to have a dad who cares for me the way that he does. He visits me every day, after work, and he works really hard to keep me here.”

At the end of this year, his father will be retiring, which will leave Cox in a financial predicament.

“I am fully aware that my dad has become financially stretched in meeting the high cost of my needs, and my goal is to help my dad pay for the high costs of my care.”

He now is confined to a wheelchair, but through sheer determination and intensive therapy provided by the home, he is able to perform everyday tasks such as typing an SMS or sharing a Facebook post.

The home cares for more than 40 residents who have taken up permanent or temporary residence as a result of motor vehicle accidents, violence, strokes, diseases and congenital disabilities.

The home is supported financially mainly by heartfelt donations from the public, but as Cox put it, “Disability is an expensive ‘sport’.”

Details: If you would like to find out how you can help David, you can call the Ann Harding Cheshire Home on 011 792 3510.

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