In The Press

Serving the SCI Community with Care and Humour

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When Marc Francis, 53, from Wimbledon, was in a serious house fire, his subsequent rehabilitation sparked a lifelong passion for healthcare. Read Marc's story as his experience supporting SCI patients, with his signature care and humour, prompted him to build a training programme to better educate healthcare settings on SCI – and to use an unconventional marketing method to promote it!

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Raised by my mother and stepdad in Crystal Palace, I was a happy child – playing with Action Man, trashing toy cars and wearing holes in the knees of my jeans. I also loved drawing and writing.

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But one fateful night in 1983, aged 11, tragedy struck when the house I lived in caught fire. My mother and I were trapped on the top floor of our Victorian home, 40 feet above street level. At two in the morning, we attracted the whole neighbourhood with our screams for help. It was a close call. Mum managed to escape unscathed by the heat and 40-foot drop. But while I was largely uninjured by the fall, I suffered third-degree burns to my legs and feet.

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And so followed my rehabilitation. I spent four months lying down, which meant that my muscles wasted, bones stiffened, and I couldn't walk. It took months of skin grafts and physio to get me back on my feet; from wheelchair to walking frame, walking stick to unaided slow walk, until finally I could stand on my own two feet. My recovery was slow and painful but made bearable by the love and support I received.

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I wasn't fully recovered until I was about 18 years old and I still suffer shooting pains and problems with my feet and skin 42 years on. But I survived, and I owe it to the doctors and nurses of Queen Mary's Hospital Burns Unit, who coaxed me to recovery.

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My introduction to the world of healthcare was a harsh one I admit, but looking back, one which steered the course of my life to this day.

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The experience sowed a seed which later blossomed into a desire to help those who are less able. It began with voluntary work. I spent five years acting as a live-in companion for those that wanted to spend their final years at home.

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In 2011, I moved into hands-on care, working as a spinal injuries carer for an agency in London – and I've been doing that ever since. I've worked with people with varying levels of movement from none at all to those that could stand with assistance.

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But one thing that I noticed as the years rolled by was the lack of consensus about how my clients should be cared for in hospital.

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Many of the clients I worked with would go into hospital with, say, a urine infection and come home with pressure sores. Spasming limbs would be misinterpreted by the hospital staff, and they'd tell clients to "Please keep still".

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The most dangerous situation was autonomic dysreflexia (AD). When discussing AD with hospital staff the standard answer would be: "What's that?" I've watched as my clients' blood pressure rose from 120 to 170, their bladder filling up because of a blocked catheter.

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Experiences like this got me thinking about the UK's understanding of spinal injury and our response to SCI patients. I wanted to build a training resource that people could turn to; to gain the knowledge they'd need to help SCI patients if they came to A&E or needed guidance at home.

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So, in 2025 I built a course, Fellow Carer, shaping everything I'd learned into practical, accessible training for carers.

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Once built, I had to think of creative ways to promote my course and, given my passion for drawing, the idea to create cartoons landed.

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And so began my unconventional marketing method – The Single Panel Cartoon!

Funny scenarios that only a SCI client would understand, and which would address the condition, the life and the challenges in a way that would both educate and spark debate, all whilst giving people a chuckle.

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I thought about the many clients that I'd had, and the funny things we'd experienced together and got busy drawing. I chose the single panel cartoon format because I wanted to communicate each scenario as succinctly as possible. Each cartoon became a way to start conversations and raise awareness.

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Everything I do today is driven by one simple belief: people with spinal cord injuries deserve better understanding and better care.

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So yes, I'm busy. Busy training, busy building courses and busy laughing with those I serve. And my hope is that it all contributes to better outcomes for spinal cord injury patients across the UK.

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Further Information

You can find out more about Fellow Carer on Marc's website: www.fellowcarer.com

To find out more about Marc's single panel cartoon work go to: www.fellowcarer.com/cartoons

For more information about the Spinal Injuries Association and how they can help visit: www.spinal.co.uk