Fundraising as member of a team

In 1999, I was 25 years old. I spent my Easter break travelling in South Africa with a close friend. We were having the time of our lives and it felt as if the whole world was mine for the taking. The possibilities seemed endless. I had recently moved to London, started my training as a Clinical Psychologist and was generally excited about life. Then, on 12th April, we were driving through the Namib desert and something happened that would change that life forever. Somehow, I lost control of the car and we rolled off the road. I was left with a complete and irreversible spinal cord injury which left me permanently paralysed from the waist down. In an instant everything changed. I would never walk again and would use a wheelchair for the rest of my life.

For a while, it seemed as if life was pretty much over. I didn't know was possible. I thought I knew that people with disabilities could work, could have relationships, could have families. I still wanted all those things but I couldn't see how. Then I found Back Up..

It is not an exaggeration to say Back Up saved my life. Back Up took me on courses, taught me the skills I needed to be independent, to go back to work and most importantly, gave me a support network of incredible peers who showed me what was possible. Since 199, I have built a 25 year career in the NHS, I have travelled all over the world, fallen in love, got married and had my daughter. A "normal" and yet extraordinary life. By giving me skills, confidence and self-belief. Back Up made this possible.

Please donate what you can to help Back Up continue to do this for anyone impacted by Spinal Cord Injury.