Kerri-Anne Kennerley has shared the “gut-wrenching” question her late husband had asked after he became quadriplegic.

At the age of 75, John Kennerley had become paralysed from the neck down after an unfortunate incident which saw him slip off a balcony at a Coffs Harbour golf club in March 2016.

Leaving him unable to speak, Kerri-Anne – who became his primary carer – said he made use of printed letters to help him communicate.

“The first thing John asked me was: Am I paraplegic?” the Studio 10 host told the Sunday Telegraph.

“It was gut-wrenching. I couldn’t say to him at the time: You’re not that lucky.”

Sadly, on February 27, John passed away after a long battle, with his final three years leaving him unable to eat or speak.

After farewelling her husband, Kerri-Anne was determined to raise awareness about spinal injury, to make sure others don’t suffer from the same fate he did.

During a visit to the exclusive Concord Golf Course in Sydney last year, the 65-year-old sat down with New South Wales Premier Gladys Berejiklian and demanded more funding for spinal injury research.

Kerri-Anne told the Sunday Telegraph that it’s impossible to understand exactly what those suffering from such a severe disability are going through.

“John was C3 and C4, which was the neck down, so he could not feed himself, he could not put a fork in his mouth. He couldn’t use the remote button. He couldn’t turn a page.”

Thanks to her persistence, $15 million will be put aside to fund spinal research as part of the new State Budget.

Close to 400 Australians suffer from spinal injuries each year, costing the community a hefty $120 million.

The dedicated funding will be spaced out over the time span of five years and will allow for researchers to have a better understanding of the condition.