Spinal Cord Injury Awareness Month

Commonwealth of Massachusetts
A Proclamation
His Excellency Governor Deval L. Patrick

Whereas According to the National Spinal Cord Injury Association, approximately 1,275,000 individuals currently have a spinal cord injury; and

Whereas  Every year, approximately 200 people sustain an injury in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts; and

Whereas  Spinal cord injuries can occur as a result of motor vehicle accidences, violence, falls, sport and industrial accidents; and

Whereas These injuries can cause a variety of disabilities, ranging from quadriplegia, a loss of movement in both the arms and legs, to paraplegia, the loss of movement and sensation in the lower body, to less severe restrictions of mobility; and  

Whereas Through public awareness, the Commonwealth of Massachusetts seeks to minimize the devastating effects of spinal cord injuries among all Massachusetts citizens,

Now, Therefore, I, Deval L. Patrick, Governor of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, do hereby proclaim September 2012 to be,

SPINAL CORD INJURY AWARENESS MONTH

And urge all the citizens of the Commonwealth to take cognizance of this event and participate fittingly in its observance.

Given at the Executive Chamber in Boston, twenty-ninth day of September, in the year two thousand and twelve, and of the Independence of the United States of America, the two hundred and thirty-sixth.

By His Excellency

Deval L. Patrick
Governor of the Commonwealth

William Francis Galvin
Secretary of the Commonwealth

God Save the Commonwealth of Massachusetts