Nearly 5 years ago, my beautiful daughter Ellie had a instant spinal stroke with no prior warning at the age of 16 and this was devasting for us all.  She is now a permanent wheelchair user and has had to adapt all her aspirations in life around her disability.

The last 5 years have been one hell of a journey with many ups and downs and we realised how provisions and support varied massively regionally within the UK, but I am grateful to say that life is on the up again once we have all adapted.

Ellie has been a true survivor and has always shown unbelievable courage and determination.  She managed to pass her A levels, driving independently and has now gained full time employment in the NHS working in HR.

Spinal Research is the UK’s leading charity funding medical research around the world to develop effective treatments for paralysis caused by spinal cord injury. Every year 1,000 people in the UK and Ireland are paralysed following an injury to their spinal cord. We receive no government funding and rely entirely on the support of the public to raise funds for our research. Because of the efforts of our supporters, we have funded innovative medical research that has achieved a number of ground breaking changes in the field.