This year I will be joining #teamSpinal and running the Great North Run for a charity close to the hearts of myself and thousands of others across the UK. I'm running for Spinal Research.

As many of you know, my husband Chris was involved in a motorcycle accident on 25th Oct 2024, resulting in multiple serious injuries. One of those injuries was a broken spine and damage to his spinal cord. As a result of the damage to his spinal cord, Chris is now paralysed from the chest down.

A spinal injury changes your whole life and the life of all of your loved ones around you. Although Chris will learn and find new ways to adapt their are some things Chris loves that have been taken away from him due to his injury. He will never take the kids on a bike ride, he will never be able to take them rockpooling at the beach again, his passion and career in cars and motorbikes has been taken away from him, he will never get to walk his daughter down the aisle on her wedding day, I will never get a hug the same way again. Sadly, the list goes on 💔

However....

Spinal research gives hope for spinal cord injury survivors, like Chris. Spinal Research are the UK's leading charity funding medical research into developing effective treatments for paralysis caused by a spinal cord injury.

Historically, the only treatment for a spinal cord injury is rehabilitation, management of pain, and adapting to life with reduced mobility and a vast number of secondary health conditions. After an injury, many individuals are told that there is no hope of a cure, which is where Spinal Research comes in.

Until recently, it was felt that any regeneration and repair of the spinal cord was not possible. However, over the last 40 years, Spinal Research have played a leading role in developing the research needed to advance our understanding of spinal cord biology. With new treatments in human trials, we are now witnessing the first generation of therapeutics which will deliver life-changing improvements to those living with paralysis today.

In addition to this, through our PhD studentships, we are creating a network of specialists in the field and funding the experts of the future. This means that the 105,000 people living with a spinal cord injury in the UK have the hope that a cure will be found in their lifetime, THANKS TO SUPPORTERS LIKE YOU! 💙

If you've read this far....Thank you! It's been an incredibly tough few months for us as a family and the future holds many more struggles for us. HOPE will always drive us forward. We hope that one day a cure will be found and by donating to my GNR journey you are part of our journey and hope too.

With your help, we can #CureParalysis.