*UPDATE*

Firstly we would like to thank each and every one of you for all the donations received. They surpassed our expectations and the kindness blew us away in what was such a scary time for everyone. We will never forget how lovely it was for Charlotte and Martin to read through the messages of support. Also a massive Thankyou to the people that have continued to arrange fundraisers, with amazing ideas that they have then carried out in their own free time, we truly are forever grateful.

Charlotte is now 5 months on from her surgery and is in the spinal unit at Stoke Mandeville hospital in Aylesbury, due to be discharged in August. Charlotte is still currently only allowed to see Martin and her boys once a week due to covid restrictions and with a 100 mile journey each way it has become very hard on everyone. Its safe to say Charlotte misses Brighton a lot!

On admission to Stoke Mandeville Hospital, Charlotte's Spinal Cord Injury following surgery to remove the tumour was reclassified as ASIA A complete @ C3 level. This was some more devastating news but despite all the challenges, Charlotte has remained mentally strong and made some good progress. She has some minimal movement back but it's a very slow process and we still don't really know what the future will look like. Charlotte is still very reliant on full time care and assistance and is unable to do anything by herself.

The physio in the hospital is great but unfortunately very limited on time. One of Charlotte's biggest breakthroughs was being able to move her toes and left foot after using a specialist bike with electrical stimulation, an FES bike. But she only gets to use it for 3 hours per week and moving forward it is unlikely Charlotte will have access to this equipment after discharge. Costs are around £100 per hour privately so this will escalate hugely over the coming years. The bikes cost around £20k outright to own at home but you can't put a price on the health benefits both short and long term.

This is just one example of many pieces of specialist equipment that are needed for the very long and complex neurological recovery and Charlotte's general well being. Powered wheelchairs, voice activated equipment, hydrotherapy sessions and electrical stimulation are some further examples. Unfortunately you start to realise how expensive this horrible situation is. Charlotte is still so young and with young children she really deserves to get her life back to as normal as possible.

Life is going to be incredibly different once Charlotte is home. Their family home isn't accessible or adaptable long term and they are currently waiting to find a more accessible home - this will be another huge challenge when the time comes.

I want to share this far and wide and raise as much as we can to help fund this expensive and difficult transition. Any help at all from donations, shares or prayers is greatly appreciated and guaranteed to help a very worthy cause.

#CharlottesStory

Charlotte's Story -

Charlotte Pryor is a beautiful, funny and caring 33 year old mother of 2 amazing young boys, Oscar 9, and Felix 5. She has been partner to Martin Wood for 18 years in a very strong and healthy relationship.

In December 2020 Charlotte was sent for an MRI scan after experiencing weakness in her right hand. In the week leading up to Christmas, Charlotte was diagnosed over the phone with the shocking results being an intramedullary tumour. A sizeable tumour was growing inside Charlotte's spinal cord between the c3 and c5 vertebrae high up the neck. After some more tests in January a decision was made for a lifesaving operation which took place at Sussex County Hospital in Brighton on 02/02/2021. It was a long and traumatic surgery. A success in terms of fully removing the tumour, but the result is a spinal cord injury with serious neurological damage. Charlotte awoke paralysed from the neck down, unable to feel anything or move her limbs, a devastating situation.

Charlotte spent the next 5 days in an intensive care unit and is now awaiting a transfer to a specialist spinal rehabilitation centre where the stay will likely be a number of months. It's currently a case of waiting for a bed to open and then rehabilitation can commence to try and give Charlotte as much independence back as possible and ultimately the pathway to returning home to her family who she loves so dearly.

This is a truly heartbreaking and extremely rare situation. So I have set up this page to try and help remove any unnecessary financial burdens from Charlotte and Martin. On top of the day to day costs of living with 2 children, regular hospital visits and expensive equipment, either a house move or substantial modifications will also be needed to allow Charlotte back home as soon as possible.