228 days ago I suffered a significant and life changing spinal injury at C6 level. A tetraplegic. This means I no longer have sensation below my chest, it also means that I'm paralysed, that my hands no longer have the ability to pick things up with opposable thumbs, that I no longer have bladder and bowel control. My body can't regulate its temperature which means I struggle with hands and arms that feel as cold as ice while the rest of me is hot. I have significantly reduced lung capacity and can struggle for hours to cough up the smallest amount of liquid that gets onto my chest. With this type of injury I'm also at high risk from autonomic dysreflexia. It causes extreme hypertension and can lead to cerebral haemorrhage and death.

I spent seven months in hospital during one of the most challenging times for the NHS. Staffing levels were often critically low, many of the therapeutic and additional services were reduced or no longer available and I understand my rehabilitation was significantly below par. Florence and Seth couldn't visit me for many many weeks and months and it took a lot of reassurance before they finally believed that daddy wasn't going to die. They had to grow up and take on so much more then I would have ever wanted them to at this age.

Finally coming home was a mixture of joy, Elation, trepidation and relief because I missed my family so much and wanted more than anything to hold them close and hear about their days at school and all of the normal activities that families do.

The first challenge that we found was getting in and out of the new house that we've had to move into. It's not adapted in any way for someone in a wheelchair with carpets, narrow doors which means I can't push my wheelchair through, no accessible bathroom, no accessible kitchen and Caroline has no room to sleep in and can't spend time alone with me. I have to eat my breakfast, sleep, go to the toilet on the commode, and have a bed wash all in the same room.

Before leaving hospital I spent many hours reaching out to charities and researching charitable grants and giving to try and help support us in the adaptations that we need to make to this house. With all of the difficulties that charities now face during this global pandemic funding has dropped off a cliff and nothing is available. Social care from the council is extremely limited and takes months and months even to start the assessment process. When I spoke to the adaptations team in Bradford Council they advised me I would wait at least six months before someone would even assess what my needs were, meaning that I would be inevitably housebound. The whole family has been psychologically scarred by the trauma experienced since the accident but in the absence of a physically suitable environment where we can live functionally together we continue to go through deep frustration and anxiety.

My hope is that the community, friends, relatives and the kindness of strangers might consider supporting me and my family in facing this difficult time. Already friends and family have made an incredible start in raising funds to help me. I hope as you read this you can help get us to where we need to be to live a little bit more normally and with dignity.