This could easily be a story of two halves about a fierce determined woman and the people who have her back the gift of life.

Part 1: The fierce determined woman …

Way back in November 2022 our lives changed forever. Our mam Sheila, tripped on a shallow doorstep and broke her neck in two places. Two days later in the RVI she was whipped off to surgery and we were told to expect the worst or at best, to get used to life with a quadriplegic mam. But the doctors hadn’t met our mam! What a force to be reckoned with. Not only did she survive the op but no less than 5 days later she was serving her own drinks with the help of a tube attached to her wrist. We were all overjoyed at this teeny glimpse of independence. From then on there was no stopping her. Just one slight problem. Her recovery needed specialist care and James Cook Spinal Unit in Middlesbrough was going to be the place to offer it. After a few more tears we made our peace and waved her off to her new home. From that day on she never stopped. She supported us more than we supported her. Once she gained more control of her hands, she was the one wiping away our tears. She set herself one huge target of getting herself back on tour with Cliff but she’s not daft, she knew she’d need smaller steps to get her there. So step one, punch Denis ✔️ was achieved almost immediately. Other small goals included writing an S, G, M on Christmas cards. She surpassed that easily and on one of the most bitterly sweet, craziest yet happiest of Christmas days we found ourselves singing the12 days of Christmas, in a hospital family room and then opening cards with our own names, a short message and then those magical words, Sheila, Grandma and Mam. Her grit had done it again. The elephant in the room was constantly there - will she ever stand again? Well, on the 11th January she gave Tracy the best birthday gift anyone could wish for, a video message of her standing and waving completely unaided. Since that day she has barely stopped. She began walking soon after and could even climb stairs. Then we got the amazing news that she was just like that glorious ladies world cup, she was coming home. But that came with trepidation and fear. Our new life was going to get real as we all left the security blanket that was the staff at James Cook Spinal Unit. Remember how I said this was a story of two halves? ….

The other half …

The care and attention she received from each and every member of staff during her stay was out of this world. As a family, we’re under no illusion that they played a huge key role in how quickly she progressed. She got to know some of them quite well and in the end probably came to think of them as friends rather than carers. Not only did the staff take the best care of our mam, they looked out for us too. They listened, smiled, squeezed our arms and didn’t even get too cross when we broke the bed 👀 In one of her care meetings she said to them ‘Thank you will never be enough for giving me back my life.’ And do you know what? She’s right. But were going to try to say and give thanks …

Mam was told she’d probably never walk again but if there’s one thing we all know about my mam, she’s stubborn. You tell her no and she hears yes. So to try and match her stubborn and fierce determination, we’re not listening to her ‘no’ and we’re saying yes to the biggest walking challenge we’ll ever face. She doesn’t want us to do it because it will be hard. But tough, we’re aiming to walk from Middlesbrough to Blyth (about 55 miles) to raise funds for the Spinal Unit’s family garden and care spaces. To be clear, we were dancers, not walkers so this will hurt. But how can we not get off our bums and give something back. When it gets tough, we’ll dig deep and channel our inner Sheila and to support us we’re hoping you’ll dig deep into your pockets.

Tracy and Nicola