SCI Companion 🦽
A warm, safety-first companion for spinal cord injury, disability, daily life, real weather, and hard moments — with document-grounded SCI answers when reference PDFs are loaded.
Important: SCI Companion is educational only — not a doctor, nurse, therapist, or emergency service. For chest pain, trouble breathing, new confusion, fainting, possible autonomic dysreflexia, or feeling unsafe, call 911 (or your local emergency number). In the US you can also call or text 988 for mental health crises.
🚨 Autonomic dysreflexia — quick steps (general education)AD can be a medical emergency, especially for injuries at/above T6. Common signs: pounding headache, high blood pressure, sweating or goosebumps above the injury, flushed/blotchy skin, stuffy nose, blurred vision, or a sense of unease.
While you get help, the standard first steps are:
1. Sit up and lower your legs (helps bring blood pressure down).
2. Loosen anything tight — clothing, abdominal binder, leg bag straps, shoes, braces.
3. Check the bladder first (the most common trigger): look for a full bladder or a kinked/blocked catheter; follow your usual bladder routine.
4. Then the bowel (impaction is the next most common trigger) and then the skin (pressure, irritation, ingrown toenail).
5. Follow your clinician-provided AD plan if you have one, and monitor blood pressure if you can.
If symptoms are severe, your blood pressure stays high, or it isn't resolving — call 911. This card is general education, not a substitute for your care team or emergency services.
📞 US help lines & SCI resourcesWhile you get help, the standard first steps are:
1. Sit up and lower your legs (helps bring blood pressure down).
2. Loosen anything tight — clothing, abdominal binder, leg bag straps, shoes, braces.
3. Check the bladder first (the most common trigger): look for a full bladder or a kinked/blocked catheter; follow your usual bladder routine.
4. Then the bowel (impaction is the next most common trigger) and then the skin (pressure, irritation, ingrown toenail).
5. Follow your clinician-provided AD plan if you have one, and monitor blood pressure if you can.
If symptoms are severe, your blood pressure stays high, or it isn't resolving — call 911. This card is general education, not a substitute for your care team or emergency services.
• Emergency: 911
• Suicide & Crisis Lifeline: call or text 988
• Reeve Foundation — Paralysis Resource Center: 1-800-539-7309 (free information specialists)
• United Spinal Association — Resource Center: 800-962-9629
• Paralyzed Veterans of America: 800-424-8200
These are general resources, not a substitute for your own care team or emergency services.
• Suicide & Crisis Lifeline: call or text 988
• Reeve Foundation — Paralysis Resource Center: 1-800-539-7309 (free information specialists)
• United Spinal Association — Resource Center: 800-962-9629
• Paralyzed Veterans of America: 800-424-8200
These are general resources, not a substitute for your own care team or emergency services.
Weather data by Open-Meteo. Powered by a US-built open model (Llama) via Hugging Face Inference Providers.
I'm chatting as
Optional — tailors the tone. Safety guidance stays the same for everyone.