This is a picture of me and my wee mum, Rosie. We’re in her favourite place; her garden.

My mum has always lived with back pain but she’s tended to just get on with things. This year was different , she just couldn’t.

She couldn’t work in the garden. She couldn’t nip in& out of the shops & she started to find it difficult to even walk. Things came to a head in May & she was sent to the A&E at the Royal Victoria Hospital with query Cauda Equine Syndrome. We had no idea what this was but google explained it very well & it sounded scary.

After an urgent MRI my wee mum was diagnosed with Severe Spinal Stenosis.

She had surgery on 30th May 2025. She had rods inserted (instrumented fusion of lower posterior spine) and nerve decompression.

I can remember the surgeon telling her what he had planned …

he used his hands to demonstrate how the nerves would be released during the decompression and mum’s response was funny . She said , “oh that sounds lovely” and I could tell she meant it .

She’s over the surgery now. No more numbness or freezing/ burning sensations. The nerves seem to be well and truly decompressed .

While she’s still in a lot of post surgical pain she’s looking forward to a time when she will be pain free. She said she can’t imagine it.

She’s looking forward to nipping to the shops again, doing the school runs and getting stuck into her wee garden.

We know my mum has a long road ahead but we’re all looking forward to a better quality of life for her.

That’s why I want to run for Spinal Research.

Without the research the surgery wouldn’t be possible and without the surgery, wee Rosie wouldn’t be able to have the same optimism and hopefulness for her future.

We feel so grateful and want to give back in whatever way we can. That’s why I’m looking forward to being part of #TeamSpinal ❤️ x