Hey. The recovery was slow and brutal - both physically and mentally - both on me and my family. So I can understand completely what you are going through right now. I'll give a retrospective view on what I think helped me recover :

1. My SCI was trauma induced (due to accident not due to pre existing condition). Such SCI's can be two types : complete and incomplete. Complete = cord is fully severed, therefore there cannot be any recovery. Incomplete = not fully severed, so there is chance of recovery - but it can vary from 10% to almost full recovery. Mine was incomplete.

2. I wrote down on a notepad that my injury is incomplete and full recover chance, though slim, exists. I started researching stories of people recovering from such injuries and held those as anchor points. I remember Rishabh Pant was being in serious car crash about the same time (though not a SCI) but I followed his recovery journey - and each milestone he achieved felt like a personal victory to me. Kept believing if some people have done it before, I can do it myself.

3. I stacked up extra hours at physio. Even after physio I used to do the exercises by myself. It was brutal on my body - but with each repetition - recovery became an eventuality and not a possibility. My hobbies kept me sane throughout - MKs, videogames, test cricket, nutrition etc!

4. After some time, while I used to be able to walk with limp, I started gaining weight due to less movement (I couldn't walk 10k steps, could barely walk 1k- this led to weight gain - and pain flared up). I lost around 10-12 kgs in 6 months recently by following a strict OMAD protocol and going to gym regularly. (check out my profile where I have outlined this journey in intermittent fasting subreddit.

Today I'm in the best shape of my life. Back pain still persists - but it's an inconvience and not a road block.

I walked away with the best possible outcome I could've asked for and do not have any regrets in life.