On the 1st September 2024, I crashed out of Belvoir Castle Triathlon in spectacular style. In the seconds that followed I knew that this wasn't likely to end well. My fancy bike was mangled and my new helmet smashed to pieces which most likely saved my life. I was taken by ambulance to Nottingham Queens HospitaI where I was given the terrifying news that I had broken my C6 vertebrae near base of my neck.

I stayed in hospital for several days on Morphine and Ketamine, to ease the pain that went from hand to hand and all the way up my spine to the back of my head. I had an operation to fuse my C6 and C7 vertebrae. They installed a cage secured with titanium screws to replace the disc and hold the vertebrae secure, this would prevent damage to my spinal cord and stabilise my neck. When I woke up the pain that ran up my arms and back had gone ( still had the neck pain), I realised how close I came to irreparable damage. I was Initially unable to turn my neck independently to my body, recovering was always going to be hard. I still live with pain and discomfort every day. I will never recover to pre-injury strength or mobility, but it could have been so much worse and I am forever grateful for that.

Months of physiotherapy and rebuilding strength followed. With the support of amazing family and friends, the parkrun community, West Suffolk Wheelers Cycle Club and Streets Ahead Swim Coaching, I started to return to sport. Slowly at first but with a growing determination to prove to myself that I could cross the finish line of an epic event soon. With my fitness at an all-time low I decided to enter TCS London Marathon and I was honoured to be offered a place to run the TCS London Marathon for Aspire.

Aspire is a charity that help people with spinal injuries lead and independent. Please help me to support Aspire in continuing their work helping others who’s have not been as fortunate as me.

Thanks for taking the time to visit my JustGiving page.

Donating through JustGiving is simple, fast and totally secure. Your details are safe with JustGiving - they'll never sell them on or send unwanted emails. Once you donate, they'll send your money directly to the charity. So it's the most efficient way to donate - saving time and cutting costs for the charity.