Alex Richter (OKG20) and Duncan Wallace from SpinalCure Australia were special guests at today's student assembly, sharing their stories of spinal injury and about the exciting trial that may give them more independence.
Alex was a keen mountain biker when he was involved in an accident which fractured vertebrae in his neck and spinal cord damage, resulting in paralysis.
After spending ten months in hospital, Alex returned to Knox in time to take his HSC exams and is now studying human sciences at Macquarie University.
Both Alex and Duncan will soon take part in the innovative SpinalCure 'Project Spark' trial, which will aim to restore some movement to spinal injury patients by using electricity to stimulate the nerves that control muscular movement from the spinal cord itself.
"If we could get a little bit of movement back...it would make a huge difference to my independence," Alex says.
He said that, if successful, the trial would help to restore quality of life to spinal injury patients, telling the Sydney Morning Herald: "If I could get even a little bit of finger movement back so that I could pick up a fork or cut my own steak, or type on a computer … it would be a massive, massive improvement to my life."
Knox Prep students will raise money for SpinalCure by purchasing special Ride With Richter caps and will bring their bikes and scooters to school on Monday to participate in fun races.
On the 21 November Senior School students will have the opportunity to wear their Ride With Richter cap, enjoy a barbecue lunch, listen to live music, watch a Mountain Biking demonstration on Knox 1 and participate in a cycling challenge activity on the Boulevard.
To give students an idea of what the challenge would entail, School Captain Zoltan Reed and staff members Beth Goddard, Greg Nunan, Elizabeth Ruff, James Norman and Vicky Cowell competed in a live demonstration at Assembly, pedalling the equivalent of up to 1km in just one minute!
Parents and carers can order a cap and lunch for their son until 12 November. Boys will also be collecting gold coin donations at the school gates on 21 November.
07 November 2024
The Community Portfolio Leadership Team has kicked off Ride With Richter 2024 to support SpinalCure Australia’s cutting-edge neurostimulation research.
15 October 2024
In Knox’s centenary year, the Senior School Drama and Theatre production is the Scottish play, 'Macbeth'.
10 October 2024
In keeping with the philosophy of ‘innovation wrapped in tradition’, we are delighted to announce that the Knox Grammar School Cadet Unit will be renamed the Knox Ravenswood Cadet Unit.
