This time last year, I was in a very different place to the one I’m in now. I’d just been signed off from work, for a period which would ultimately last for over six months.

As an adult, I’ve had back problems for pretty much as long as I can remember, starting at my first part time job stacking shelves in a supermarket in the late 90’s. Whilst I’ve generally been able to manage the regular bouts of sciatic pain, in August 2019 I’d reached a point where the combination of debilitating nerve pain and the cumulative impact of the cocktail of painkillers I was taking, had left me unable to work. Unable, indeed, to function in any normal capacity.

Those who have struggled with nerve pain will probably understand
how difficult it can be to navigate the various services offered by the NHS, to get to a successful resolution. The usual answer is generally either physiotherapy – an offering I’ve seen reduced significantly in scale and effectiveness over the years – and increasingly powerful drugs. Getting beyond this wall, when the usual treatments don’t offer any relief, is a slow and infuriating process, with patients often left with little or no support, waiting months between consultant appointments which are frequently cancelled or rescheduled on a whim.

It was mired in this agonising process that I found myself at the latter part of last year. The effect of ongoing, increasingly acute pain, combined with the deleterious effect of long-term opioid painkiller use, had left me in an utterly wretched mental state. The impact was felt not only by me, but also by my daughter any my wife, Reema – the latter of whom had to support me at every step.

My wife, for those who don’t know, works for the Spinal Injuries Association; a charity which helps support people who have far more serious and life-changing conditions than I had. There was, at the time, a very real risk that the prolapsed disc which was putting pressure on my sciatic nerves, could have caused a far more serious and permanent injury – this is one of the injuries that the charity sees on an almost daily basis.

Thankfully, in my case, I was finally able to break through what seems like a wall of gatekeeping within the NHS to finally speak to specialists and a very talented and supportive surgeon. I say that I was able to do so; in truth, my part in this was mostly passive as I lay in agony either in hospital beds or the floor of my house. The person who really put in the leg work was Reema. I honestly don’t know how I could have gotten through that period without her support and hard work, not to mention the access to the support and advice that was available via the experts at the Spinal Injuries Association.

This story has a happy ending. I finally had an operation to remove a section of protruding disk in my lower back in December 2019. The pain relief was immediate, though recovery has been long and carries its own challenges. Six months incapacitated, preceded by many more months of very restricted physical activity had left me severely obese, with muscular issues I’ve had to work hard to overcome. Not to mention the emotional impact of finally being lucid and having to process the experience. I’m not ashamed to admit, a week or so after the operation, I was reduced to tears one evening by simply being able to sit with Reema on the sofa watching TV.

Eight months after the operation, I finally feel as though I’m returning to a level of fitness I enjoyed before things had gotten bad. Finally feel that I can push myself and enjoy this wonderful gift I’ve been given. It’s for that reason that I’ve chosen to participate in the virtual Great North Run. Though in my case, it’s more of a walk, and it’s in Milton Keynes rather than anywhere North of Birmingham. It feels like a fitting full stop, bringing to close a period of my life which I can only remember through an almost dreamlike haze. A period which feels like I watched through someone else’s eyes and not my own.

One year on, I’m looking at the future with optimism. Looking
forward to playing with my daughter, and setting myself even loftier goals.

The Spinal Injuries Association is a charity which supports
people who may not be looking at the future in quite the same way. People who may need to adjust to a life which looks substantially different from the one they knew before their injury. Though, with the right support, spinal cord injured people may find themselves looking at their futures with the same sort of optimism I’m feeling at the moment. This is why I think it’s so important, and feels so personal to me, to help support the incredible work that SIA does to support incredible people. And this is also why I’m dedicating my ‘Great Milton Keynes Brisk Walk’ to raising money for them, so that they can continue to do the great work they do.

The current circumstances have hit charities particularly hard, with many major events cancelled which would have generated lots of fundraising. For SIA in particular, this is a double blow, as many of the people who rely upon their services are in high risk categories, making it challenging to access the support they need. So I’m asking those who have taken the time to read this, to please give what you can to support this cause.

Thank you very much for reading my story.

Chris