On the 29th August 2014 my good friend Irrum Jetha gave birth to her beautiful daughter, Amelie.  Unfortunately, her magical moment was swiftly overshadowed by unimaginable despair:  the epidural administered during labour caused a blood clot to compress Irrum's spinal cord, leading to total paralysis from the waist down.  Rather than returning home as a dutiful mother, Irrum spent the next four months in hospital agonisingly separated from Amelie and her husband, Adam.

Since then Irrum has worked tirelessly to rebuild damaged nerve connections and muscle, exercising for 4 to 5 hours per day, 5 days a week, often through severe pain.  She has to sacrifice spending time with Amelie because of the gruelling exercise schedule. However, Irrum remains undeterred and continues to improve. In order to propel Irrum to the next stages of recovery (standing and then walking), they need specialist help, both in the form of physiotherapy and equipment.  Unfortunately, these are not available on the NHS and are very costly.

There are rehabilitation centres which could help Irrum take a few steps, for example with the assistance of a 4-wheeled walking aid (which can cost £40,000).  Further stays at this kind of centre would allow Irrum to become less dependent on walking aids, rebuild her walking stamina and potentially enable hands-free walking.  To achieve the last aim might require at least 12 months of physiotherapy at this centre.

This is where you enter the fray!  We need to raise a lot of money to get Irrum back on her feet.  Anything you can donate will help her on this journey.  Please help Irrum fulfil her dream of walking hand in hand with Amelie!