STEPS Rehabilitation client Shaun Cook is featured in the Brain & Spinal Injury Handbook 2026/2027, speaking about his rehabilitation journey following a life-changing spinal cord injury.
Shaun sustained his injury in April 2018 at the age of 32, from a motorcycle accident in Great Yarmouth. He sustained life-threatening injuries, including an incomplete fracture at T7/8 and a lesion at T2.
Following his initial medical treatment, Shaun transferred to the Princess Royal Spinal Injuries Centre in Sheffield in June 2018, where he completed a three-month rehabilitation programme before returning home. A year later the following June, he began a six-week intensive residential rehabilitation programme at STEPS Rehabilitation.
Once back at home, Shaun was determined to return to an active lifestyle and was introduced to kayaking by a friend. His dedication and talent quickly developed, leading him to international competition. Shaun has since won gold at both the International Va’a Federation World Distance Championships in Samoa and the International Canoe Federation World Marathon Championships in Denmark in 2023.
Shaun’s paracanoe journey has been supported by the STEPS Rehabilitation Foundation, which provided funding towards an adaptive Va’a outrigger canoe.
You can read the full case study below:
https://issuu.com/sevenstarmedia/docs/brain_spinal_injury_handbook_-_26_27