The Fear of Living as A Cripple: A Study of Spinal Cord Injured Patients at the National Orthopaedic Hospital, Dala, Kano, Nigeria

Background: Spinal cord injury (SCI) transforms lives in an instant, replacing autonomy with dependence, mobility with immobility, and hope with fear. Beyond the measurable clinical outcomes of mortality and neurological recovery lies a deeper, more pervasive reality: the existential terror of living as a cripple in a society ill-equipped to accommodate disability. This study explores the fears, anxieties, and psychological burdens of spinal cord injury survivors at the National Orthopaedic Hospital (NOH), Dala, Kano, Nigeria.

Spinal cord injury, fear, psychological impact, depression

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