Hen is my best friend of 25 years. She is a daughter, a sister, a wife, a mother, a PE teacher, a nutrition guru, an ex-pole vaulter and above all else an awesome person.

In May this year she had an accident whilst lifting weights in the gym which caused a fracture/ dislocation at T11/12 and a complete spinal cord injury (SCI). This means that she is paralysed from the waist down and the complete nature of the injury means that these injuries could be permanent. She had a spinal stabilisation in Southampton Hospital 3 months ago so her spine is stable but nerve recovery remains unknown. To date there has not been any change in neurological function but those of you who know Hen will appreciate her capacity for hard work and a stubborn determination which is helping her face day to day challenges whilst exhausting all possibilities to provide the best chance of recovery.

She is currently at Salisbury Spinal Unit working towards being safe and independent in a wheelchair, ready for discharge home. There have been and continue to be, many physical, emotional, psychological and logistical challenges and I am so proud of how she has responded. Her strength has never been in question but bravery also comes from asking for help, being open to the unknown and embracing all it brings with it.

Hen, Shane and her two boys are now looking towards the next steps of the recovery process. The next goal is discharge home which will require some adaptations and the time frame of this falls outside the capacity of any possible grants. Beyond this there are other avenues to explore as detailed by Hen and Shane below. 

I appreciate that this may be new to some of you and there is still a lot to process for all involved but if you have any questions please contact myself or Shane in the first instance.

We are aiming to raise money for three separate areas - rehabilitation, home improvements and innovative Spinal cord injury (SCI) treatments in addition to the rehab.

REHABILITATION - Once Hen is discharged from Salisbury Hospital any continued rehab needs to be funded privately. The private clinics we have identified can cost between £1000-£6000 per week. We would aim to achieve at least 12 weeks of rehab which could potentially cost £80,000.

HOME ADAPTATIONS - The second area is money for house renovations to make it accessible so we can stay in our much loved family home. We live in a 3-storey house with steps to the front and back. Access is required to front and back, as well as within the house. An accessible bathroom is also required. There is a government grant for home renovations which is sadly capped at a low level, and will take several months to be approved, long after Hen could be home. There are also limits to what sort of home improvements they will fund. We estimate will need to contribute a further £100,000 to make the whole house fully accessible.

NOVEL TREATMENTS - There are some new and innovative SCI treatments on the market which we have been investigating and it would be amazing to try and get access to some of these when possible to give Hen the best possible chance of walking again. For this we are looking to raise £50,000

In total these three areas come to £230,000

We realise this is a huge sum of money and may take some time to raise. With SCI, the common consensus seems to be that there is a timeframe of up to 2 years where the body can still heal and make changes. Henrietta has put her body through much as an athlete and has huge respect and understanding for the incredible gift the human body is so we continue to believe that the body can heal if given the right environment, despite current medical opinion. Any and all donations would make the world of difference to our family life in being able to live with and eventually overcome the life changing impacts of an SCI injury.

Much love and thanks,

Henrietta and Shane xxx