I don’t like to celebrate birthdays because they remind me that time passes and yet there is still no cure for paralysis. My accident occurred in 2001 meaning that I have been paralysed for 14 years. I founded the Cure Girls because I thought that many women suffering just as I do could fight together and raise awareness about the serious problem that is paralysis caused by spinal cord injury. Each of the eight Cure Girls is individual and each has a different way of life. However, we all share the same goal: to return to an independent and autonomous life. The Cure Girls believe that only a cure that makes paralysis reversible will enable us to lead fulfilling lives. In these three years we have undertaken outreach programmes and fundraising. We have met with researchers and have been studying numerous lines of research. However, it is still not enough and our battle will only be over when paralysis becomes curable. We no longer want to live restricted lives, dependent on others to care for us. We no longer want paralysis to devastate our dreams and the dreams of other people. We want a cure for paralysis and only when we have reached our goal we can really celebrate! Thanks again to all of you who support us in this struggle.

What can I say that hasn’t already been said by the other fantastic Cure Girls? Paralysis has ruined our lives and those of our loved ones. Healthy, vibrant young lives transformed in an instant into lives of pain, illness and dependency. I joined the Cure Girls because the group is a beacon of hope, humour and courage in this bleak landscape. Working with the Cure Girls has enabled me to challenge the popularly held notion that disability and paralysis are empowering life choices. For me, and I think the other Cure Girls will agree, paralysis has been and continues to be a harrowing ordeal. There is no narrative of ‘triumph over adversity’ here, only a deep desire to recover function. And this is why the work of the Cure Girls is so crucial and important: we create a sense of urgency. Our message is simple and our determination knows no bounds: Chronic spinal cord injury must become curable.

Cure Girl Ruth.

I joined the Cure Girls because I wanted to raise awareness of the need to find a Cure for Spinal Cord Injury, living life in a chair isn’t fun. We need to raise funds and spread the word and also raise as much money as we can to put towards the research to make this cure possible.
I am an identical twin, before my accident I spent all my life with my sister, we did everything together, the same subjects at school, same hobbies and friends and we went off to agricultural college together to learn to teach horse riding and equestrian business management. After qualifying we went on to riding hors es for other people and grooming. It was the best life, we had our own horses too, so we’d be looking after our own, then going off to work and having our own amount of horses to take care of and ride. I loved my job, my friends and all the nights out we all had. Being able to stay out all night, whenever we wanted Hunting, Eventing, Polo and young farmer’s life couldn’t be better. This is what we’d dreamed of. At the age of 22 during a Polo match a horse riding accident so horrific changed my life, split my sister and I in two and ripped me out of the world of horses, my whole life torn to shreds.A spinal cord injury ruins your life, takes the fun out of everything, tears you away from your passions whatever they may be and thrusts you into a horrible life of sitting down, catheters, urine infections, bladder and bowel’s that no longer work, along with your legs, and a life of people talking to you like you’re a child. It’s HELL!!!We need a cure so that no more people have to go through what we are living through and ensure people can live the lives they dream of. People need to be aware of the different things we all have to go through, this isn’t just so we can all walk and feel again, there are so many awful things we have to cope with behind closed doors and also the mental torture we all have to try to battle with each day.I don’t want my worst enemy to have a spinal cord injury; it really is hell on earth.Being part of the Cure Girls has given me a purpose, and some loyal friends along the way. We are in many ways like sisters all joined together by life changing events. We are from all around the world and all have different languages but we are all passionate about finding a Cure for Spinal Cord Injury. We do not want anyone to go through what we have to go through daily.If we have to battle for years that is what we’ll do, but we’ll do it together and always remain focused on the Cure.

“Cure Girl Rebecca”

I became a Cure Girl after we placed a picture with my friends from Brazil from march 2013, on facebook asking for likes to find a cure to spinal cord injury. I had almost 5000 shares and this was when Loredana saw me we then talked on skype. I then became a member of the Cure Girls team. It was amazing finding girls who think like me, that have suffered the same consequences of spinal cord injury. Our goal is find a cure to paralysis.  I am a kind of free soul. Before my injury I enjoyed spending my time doing sports. I loved my weekends, doing beach running and surfing. Then on may 2008 day I fell off a swing that simulates surf in the air. I was such an athletic girl and within seconds I’m total paralyzed from the shoulders down. We have this mission to find a cure and I will fight for a cure everyday of my life. To be able to take away the dependency on others would be one of the greatest achievements and you can have would bring great happiness to us all. In October 2014, fellow Cure Girl Lolly came to Brazil to visit me and we organized a party to raise money for research. It was a huge success and received a lot of media support. Every year I also support WFLWR (Wings for Life World Run), it is a simultaneously run event around the world and raises money for a cure and where 100% of the funds are given to research.

Join us in this mission! Follow us and support us to find a cure for spinal cord injury. Let’s walk again!

I’m Marina Romoli, an ex-professional cyclist and in June 2010 I became paralyzed after an accident during training. I lost my ability to cycle and also all of my professional sporting dreams.

This terrible event, however, did not make me lose the will to live. I decided to do something useful both for myself and for others living with SCI: I decided to dedicate myself to the utmost to find a cure for paralysis. To this end in 2011 my cycling friends and I founded the ‘Marina Romoli onlus’ with the aim of supporting young paralysed athletes who suffer the catastrophic consequences of paralysis. In 2012 I became the president of the ‘Marina Romoli onlus’ and I began to organize events and undertake fundraising for SCI research (www.marinaromolionlus.org).

In this period I met Loredana Longo, the founder of the Cure Girls. She spoke to me about this international coalition of paraysed women who were fighting for a cure for paralysis. I was immediately exited and joined the Cure Girls. The central message of the Cure Girls is very important to me: the only way for paralysed people to be really happy and lead independent lives is to find a cure for paralysis. I strongly believe this and am therefore a real Cure Girl.

Cure Girl Marina