Lionel quickly become an expert in something he never wanted to study. He understands pressure care, autonomic dysreflexia, bowel routines, respiratory challenges, equipment failures and the countless small details that determine whether a day runs smoothly or becomes a crisis.

So it can be frustrating to discover that many of the people responsible for shaping healthcare policy have never provided intimate care, worked a live-in shift or experienced the practical realities of supporting someone with a complex spinal injury.

That's not to say Health Ministers, civil servants or policymakers don't care. Many are deeply committed to improving healthcare. The difficulty is that good intentions don't always translate into real world improvements. 

Experience brings a perspective that no briefing paper can fully capture.

The cartoon above imagines tattoos proudly declaring "Doctor", "Nurse" and "Carer" across three muscular arms, built from years of experience, while the fourth simply reads "Health Minister" on an arm which clearly hasn't even done moving and handling. It's a humorous reminder that those writing the rules don't always have the same lived-experience as those working on the front line.

That's one reason why specialist training matters so much. At Fellow Carer, our spinal injury training is built around the practical knowledge of experienced carers and people living with SCI, helping bridge the gap between policy, theory and everyday reality.

Next week on 'Life of Lionel': Lionel let's off steam in Parliament's direction.

Before you go, if you could give one piece of advice directly to the people making decisions about spinal injury care, what would it be? We'd love to hear your thoughts in the comments.