Crown Princess Victoria has attended the opening of the Nordic Spinal Cord Society’s bi-annual conference at the Spinalis Foundation.
Her Royal Highness arrived at the Solna facility in the morning of Thursday, 5th May, and was welcomed by Claes Hultling, the CEO of the Spinalis Foundation.
Once inside, the future queen sat down with Björn Zoëga, hospital director, and Irene Svenonius, the finance region councilor, to listen to the latest research developments in the treatment and rehabilitation of spinal cord injury patients.
The conference will be ongoing until the 7th of May, and is organised by the Nordic Spinal Cord Society (or NoSCoS), which currently represents northern European countries within the International Spinal Cord Society, or ISCoS.
Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden are all member states of NoSCoS, and rotate in the task of hosting the Society’s bi-annual conference.
The association brings together “professionals with a special interest in rehabilitation after injuries and diseases of the spinal cord and management of conditions and consequences related to them”, as stated by the Royal Court.
Crown Princess Victoria has long been involved in getting to know the latest development and scientific research for the treatment of rare or permanent diseases, an interest she acquired from her mother, Queen Silvia.
Her Majesty has recently developed closer ties with the research for treatment and care of patients with Alzheimer’s Disease, and her children have picked up on her empathy for people who live with chronic illnesses.
Spinal cord injuries are defined as “the damage to the spinal cord that causes temporary or permanent changes in its function”. They usually stem from traumatic events, but they can also be the consequence of degenerative disease or tumours.
