On the 28th of September, Scarlett’s life changed drastically and this is her story - It was a Sunday and Scarlett said that her legs had begun to feel strange. She said they felt weak and numb; after trying to stand up, she collapsed. Scarlett was taken to St. Helier where, at first, they thought she had a urine infection that had spread. They ran multiple tests and decided that the best place for her would be St. George’s. After doing an MRI scan, they discovered a shading on her spinal cord, so they scanned again. It was only then that they discovered she had a blood clot that had ruptured and bled through her spinal chord. This is known as a Cavernoma and from what we understand, it is extremely rare. Only 2 people were diagnosed with this in the UK last year.

Scarlett was taken for emergency surgery, which lasted 5 and a half hours and then she was then admitted into intensive care. She then spent 3 weeks at St. George’s, before moving to Stanmore Hospital (where she spent a further 10 weeks) to begin her rehabilitation.

Scarlett still doesn’t have any movement in her legs and is paralysed from the waist down. We have no idea what Scarlett’s recovery will look like in the future, as this is so rare and doctors cannot give us a definitive answer. She has amazed us all with her mindset, courage and desire to try and walk unaided again. She continues to inspire us every day and is such a strong minded girl, who has adapted to wheelchair life with a positivity that is beyond belief. She will need to undergo continued intense physio, and we want to help make her life as comfortable as it can be, now that she has returned home.

We have been overwhelmed by the generosity of family and friends who have, and who still want to make a donation to help make this happen. We have set up this fund raising page as a place where her family and friends can make their kind gestures, to help make her recovery a little easier and hopefully, quicker. This will all go a long way in helping Scarlett on her journey to recovery.

If you would like to follow Scarlett’s journey, we have set up an instagram page which is the following: @scarlettsjourney2020