This year’s fundraiser is dedicated to the memory of my beautiful friend Nat, who tragically lost her life very recently in a stair fall so very similar to my own. Nat leaves behind her husband Matt & young children Erin & Edward, a heartbreaking reminder of how life for any one of us, can change in just a heartbeat.

Our 2024 SIA raffle has now been drawn but you can continue to make donations here in Natalie’s memory & leave messages of condolence for her family.

Many of you will already know my story. In 2009 I fell down the stairs & broke my neck incurring C 4/5 life changing spinal cord injury. One minute I was a super busy full time teacher, juggling 2 small children with a husband away in Afghanistan, the next I was paralysed from the neck down & fighting for my life. At the time my children George & Sadie were aged 3 & 5.

My husband Alan, an Army officer became full time dad whilst I remained in hospital for 6 months, & eventually when I left rehab in a wheelchair beginning my battle to walk again, he was also my part time carer.

Even for those of us fortunate enough to walk again, the complexities of SCI mean that life will never be the same again. Reduced lung function, altered sensation from the neck down (each day I have to be careful not to burn or cut myself badly without realising), chronic fatigue, low blood pressure, daily bladder & bowel complications, frequent UTIs, reduced kidney function, delayed healing, neuropathic pain, a fear of water (its touch hurts!), the body's inability to moderate its temperature & the risk of autonomic dysreflexia, are just some of the symptoms which I live with each day.

Regular check ups, hospital appointments with various specialists, & balancing medication, are a way of life for people with SCI.

Each year as a family we try to raise money to help other families like us, whose lives are turned upside down as a result of SCI. Your money will help support a community of people who are being challenged more than ever because of NHS cut backs, staff shortages, cancelled appointments & the cost of living crisis (for many, the early days after injury can mean job loss, being unable to return home to a house or flat that is no longer accessible, struggling to pay mortgages & bills & suddenly becoming solely reliant on benefits). The SIA helps bridge that gap by supporting care in the community, mental health & essential mentoring programmes, which help advise about available support as well as help its members & their families to see a way forward after injury.

Thank you for supporting this critical charity & please share this campaign far & wide to help us to reach as many people as possible.

Jacqui, Alan, George & Sadie X