Iceland review - 2014, Page 55

ICELAND REVIEW 53
nordic cooperation
in September 2014, the nordic council met in Reykjavík. this
collection of doctors, researchers and the Fia Foundation,
which supports global road safety, explored and shared what was
happening in the field of Sci. given the comparatively small
populations of nordic countries, the researchers determined
that nordic nations are in the best position to make significant
progress in keeping records of Scis—which not every country
does.
dr. Joost van middendorp, Research director of the Stoke
mandeville Spinal Foundation in the U.K., who attended the
meetings, says, “our biggest recommendation is to establish a
registry of both newly-injured patients and people living in the
community in order to figure out who needs support and where
they are. in addition, working towards a green paper to present
to nordic politicians is an aim.”
also in attendance was dr. Jae K. Lee of the miller School
of medicine at the University of miami. He said that there is
a need to develop research on how to treat patients with Sci
in order to increase their quality of life. He explained that the
public thinks those with Sci would, first and foremost, wish
to walk again. However, those who suffer from Sci have other
priorities, like regaining control of their bowel and bladder.
passionate crusade
as part of the nordic council meeting, a reception was held by
icelandic President Ólafur Ragnar grímsson, another icelandic
head of state whose support auður has enlisted. at this meeting,
Ólafur spoke about the need for cooperation and expressed his
continued support for auður’s relentless and passionate crusade.
Ólafur himself has taken an active role in initiating cooperation
by inviting auður and her daughter to an official dinner with
now former chinese President Jiang Zemin in 2002, allowing
the two women to personally thank the leader for china’s medi-
cal treatment of Hrafnhildur.
asking auður what her wishes are today, she answers that she
wants the Un to adopt research on Scis and the nervous sys-
tem as one of their developmental goals, as the nervous system
affects diseases such as mnd, mS and Parkinsons.
as to how ordinary people can help, auður responds, “by
sending good thoughts and good spirits my way. i need open-
minded people. i’ve been fighting for this for 25 years. Love is
my weapon.” *
heALthCAre
Auður guðjónsdóttir and
her daughter Hrafnhildur
thoroddsen, meeting the
then President of China
Jiang Zemin in Perlan,
Reykjavík, in June 2002.
President of iceland
ólafur Ragnar grímsson
is standing next to Jiang.
PHOTO COurTESy OF Auður GuðJónSDóTTIr.