John Cockroft

Hi. I'm Clair and in June this year myself and my fantastic team will be working together to get me up Yr Wyddfa (Mount Snowdon) in my wheelchair to raise money for the amazing Back Up Trust. Let me tell you why... 

In 1999, I was 25 years old. I spent my Easter break travelling in 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 the 12th April, we were driving through the Namib desert and something happened which 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 what was possible. I thought I knew that people with disabilities could work, could have relationships, could have families. I still wanted all these things but I couldn't see how. That world of possibilities had darkened and now felt very small. 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 1999, 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.