In September 2018, my life changed in an instant when I fell from my horse & broke my neck, causing a C5 Spinal Cord injury (SCI).

18 months in hospital, it wasn’t only my life that had changed, but the lives of my family & closest friends too.

Life with a SCI is complicated to say the least! Daily life comes with challenges id never imagined & everything is different from the life I led before.

However I count myself so so lucky to have the most amazing team around me, my family & friends mean the absolute WORLD to me & despite endless hours sat by my hospital bed & giving me the most incredible support system a girl could ever ask for, they still want to go one step (well actually lots of steps) further & help me fulfill this awesome challenge!!

On 28th June, my husband, my sons & the best friends & family in the world are heading up Mount Snowden! The challenge is to get me, in my chair, to the top & back down to the bottom checkpoint in the fastest possible time! We will be competing against other teams from across the country, all with the aim of getting their injured player up & down too!

This may seem mad! & it probably is! But it’s all to raise as much money as we can for a wonderful charity called BackUp!

Help us raise as much as we can for this incredible charity so that they can support more people…. Just like me!

BackUp Background….

Where Back Up began and where we are now, may look far apart. But our values and our aspirations for people with spinal cord injury were the same in 1986 as they are today.

Mike Nemesvary, our founder, was a world champion freestyle skier with numerous TV and film appearances, including performing stunts on the James Bond film, A View to a Kill. Aged just 24, Mike’s life changed forever. During a routine training session on a trampoline, he landed awkwardly and broke his neck.

The impact on Mike and his loved ones was devastating. Not only was he paralysed from the shoulders down, he’d also lost his greatest love – skiing. But Mike was determined to change this.

Mike and friends close to him realised that there was still a way for Mike to get back up the mountain. And by getting back up, he would regain his zest for life and self belief. Within eight months, Mike was in Switzerland learning to sit ski. In 1986, with the help of our co-founders, Barbara Broccoli, Konrad Bartelski, Jess Stock, from the film and skiing industries, Mike set up Back Up so that everyone affected by spinal cord injury could experience the freedom and fun of life on the slopes that he enjoyed.

Since the first ski course we organised, Back Up has grown more than Mike, Barbara, Konrad and Jess could have ever dreamed. People with spinal cord injury of all ages including children are now supported with a range of services. We now offer wheelchair skills training, mentoring, and support getting back to school and work and help for families – reaching more than 1,000 people every year.

From help getting back to school or work to getting the most out of your wheelchair, all our services continue to deliver Mike’s vision. A world where everyone with a spinal cord injury can fulfil their potential.