Most people living with a spinal cord injury are not looking for care in the sense of being looked after. They are looking for reliable hands at set times so that the rest of the day belongs to them — work, study, family, going out.
That distinction shapes everything about how this support should be delivered. The person directs it. We turn up when we said we would and do it the way they have worked out it needs doing.
What actually matters at home
- Reliability above all. A carer who is an hour late is not an inconvenience — it is a missed shift at work, a missed lecture, a bowel routine thrown out for the day.
- Skin is the standing risk. Pressure injuries develop quietly and take months to heal. Repositioning and skin checks are not optional detail.
- Bladder and bowel routines are precise, personal, and set by the person, not by the carer.
- Transfers are done a particular way in each household, and the right way is the way that person has refined over years.
- Autonomic dysreflexia is a medical emergency for people with higher injuries, and anyone in the home should recognize it.
How we help
- Morning and evening routines run to the person’s own schedule and their own method
- Transfers, including with a lift or transfer board, done as the household does them
- Skin checks and repositioning, with early reporting of any area that is not settling
- Support with bladder and bowel routines, including catheter care where nursing is involved
- Range of movement and stretching as set by the physiotherapist
- Help with the practical parts of the day — meals, laundry, shopping — so energy goes to the parts that matter
- Support to get out: work, study, appointments, social life
- Carers who understand that autonomic dysreflexia is an emergency and know what to do
Who provides the care
Attendant support is delivered by personal support workers. Catheter care, wound care and other regulated tasks are provided by an RN or RPN. We will tell you clearly which parts of your routine need a nurse and which do not, before you commit to anything.
Common questions
I want to direct my own care. Is that a problem?
It is the opposite of a problem. Self-directed support is how this works best, and carers we place into these households are told plainly that the person sets the method.
Can you fund this through my accident benefits?
Very often the funding already exists. Attendant care after a motor vehicle accident is usually covered through accident benefits, and after a workplace injury through WSIB. If you have a case manager, an adjuster or a lawyer, tell us and we will work with them.
What about the bowel routine?
It gets done properly, on schedule, without fuss and without commentary. Where the routine includes tasks that must be done by a regulated professional, a nurse does that part.
Do you provide overnight turning?
Yes. Overnight repositioning is available, either as a waking night or as part of 24-hour cover.
Can I get the same two or three people rather than a different face each week?
Yes, and you should insist on it. Intimate routines with a stranger every week are not sustainable. We build a small named team around the household.
Where we provide this care
We provide this support across 146 communities in Ontario, from the Greater Toronto Area to Thunder Bay. If your town is not listed, call us — we will tell you honestly whether we can staff it properly rather than promising and then failing to turn up.
Related
- Stroke recovery
- Parkinson’s
- Multiple sclerosis
- Home care — what it covers
- Respite care for family carers
- 24-hour home care
- All 146 communities we serve
Not sure what you need? That is the normal starting point. A free consultation is a conversation about what is actually happening at home — no charge, no obligation, and we will point you at publicly funded care first where you may qualify for it.