Latest news from last couple of months

Since I last blogged quite a lot has been happening with my personal circumstances. Well I have finally commenced my big build at home. The builders have been her 8 weeks now and the drilling noise has become the norm.. From 8am all I hear is disk cutters/diggers and the sound of the kettle being put on to make tea!!!

All joking a side it is going well, actually I am out of the ground now with the ground works to the back of the house, ditches and drains and holes to the front of the house and the biggest hole ever in the garage!! I think the building inspector made the footings deeper than double!! I thought they were building a swimming pool and were down deeper than 2.5meters. Well let’s just say if the house falls down the extension and garage wont. All this was because of the neighbours leylandii tree that’s in the bottom of his garden near my wall… the cost of this has gone into extra thousands and it’s so depressing. Oh well have to suck it up I will have a great secure floating block and beam floor but no kitchen or bathroom as I can’t afford it!! Ha haha .I will be looking at ways of making money soon and calling on some favours to help with decorating and the garden as the garden budget has been swallowed up in the floor!

Well I now have an extension, roof and skylights and the hole at the front of the house has been connected and all the drainage done for the wet room, which means that soon they will be blocking up at the front garage and then the only access will be through the house, then all the internal walls will be taken down and all knocked through into one big open space. It’s getting exciting now but I am a little worried as how I will cope with things when this happens. I’ve had to pick all the windows for the new extension and discussions with the builders about RSJ steels and acro props to hold up the back of the house while they knock it through. The new kitchen will make such a difference to my safety while doing my tasks, I can’t wait to have a dishwasher back as been washing up for months and find this so hard as can’t actually get up to the sink, have to go sideways and my back is twisted and its really uncomfortable.

Roll on being able to cook and open an oven safely and reach things in the cupboards, no more dropping tins out of wall units that I can’t reach and smashing glasses. Well to be fair I actually had to stand on a step stool to reach things before my accident!!  Maybe I won’t drop and break so much stuff now? I think we are three quarters of the way through now.  The kitchen comes out next week so and offers for tea will be appreciated!  I can see light at the end of the tunnel now.

 

 

 

 

As well as the build starting I’ve been to see a hand surgeon about my carpal tunnel in my wrists, I defiantly need an operation but have been putting it off as am so worried if things go wrong as my hands are so important to me now, I do everything with my arms and hands and if they go out of action I will be snookered. I have managed to get another cortisone injection and this has bought me 3 months grace to get over the build and chaos at home, the last thing I needed was to have to be sleeping downstairs and not being able to drive and transfer as down stairs looks like a bomb has gone off. Once the build is finished I will hopefully have a downstairs toilet I can get in and a shower room, so then I will be able to get the surgery done and not have to worry about being downstairs and not being able to manage. To be honest this has taken over my life at the moment and I am not sure whether the stress of everything has been a bit too much as I have had a lot of bladder problems and infection yet again, this has been a major problem and knocked me down quite a lot. Have had to have time off work and been on antibiotics again and needed to build my stamina up as got quite low. Well things seem to be picking up and slowly getting back to normal and the sun is out and this makes me feel amazing.

 

I’ve also been to the Hospital for an ENT appointment as I’ve mentioned before I suffer with labythritis. I get extremely giddy when lying down, sitting up, and leaning over to pick things up!! This actually has been a problem for quite a while. Sometimes it’s worse than others. The GP said I needed to see an ear, nose and throat (ENT) doctor as it seems like the crystals in my ears had become dislodged and I need to have a procedure called an epley manoeuvre. I looked this up and it seem like mumbo jumbo ha ha ha but when I went to the appointment I was a bit sceptical but once done the initial progress has been great, I’m not half as dizzy as I was so there is some improvement. I have to be followed up and may need it doing again, as it not completely worked.

 

During May I had a week off to attend Badminton Horse trials, I absolutely love this event. Lots of shopping and plenty to eat and drink.. Event Mobility was there for the whole event, making people accessible in venues like this. Just on Saturday alone we rented out 180 wheelchairs and electric scooters. This is absolutely amazing as many families/individuals wouldn’t attend outdoor events if they couldn’t get about. It’s about making special memories with friends and families and having access to get round venues why I love this charity so much. The charity also loan equipment to individuals in need and also organisations such as garden centres and stately homes for use by the general public in the season. They have some great shows coming up in June 2018  with Bramham horse trials 7^th-10^th in Yorkshire, RAF Cosford airshow 10^th June Wolverhampton, Royal Three counties show 15^th-17^th June Malvern, Labour live, 16^th June London, Lincolnshire show 20^th-21^st June , Blenheim palace flower show 22^nd-24^th June oxford, Royal Ascot 19^th-23^rd June and Royal Norfolk show 27^th-28^th June. Come along to these events knowing your mobility requirements are taken care of. Get in touch with Event mobility on the booking and general enquires number 01386 725391, booking@eventmobilty.org.uk or through the website. eventmobility.org.uk

I have been extremely busy making great progress with my newest sponsor on the leg up for talent program. Neurokinex provides activity based rehabilitation. The Bristol branch is an addition to the gyms in Watford and Gatwick which already specialise in neurological rehabilitation for various forms of paralysis.neurokinex.org

Their vision is to make high quality rehabilitation and wellbeing programs more accessible and inclusive for those living with various forms of paralysis. They make it their responsibility to stay up to date with the latest breakthroughs in neuroscience, by delivering specialist neurological rehabilitation in such a safe, positive and supportive environment can have a profound impact on the quality of life for someone living with paralysis.  Neurokinex provide forms of rehabilitation to conditions such as spinal cord injury, stroke, transverse myelitis and multiple sclerosis.

Activity based rehabilitation has two main goals, to stimulate the whole body to work as one unit again and if possible to re-establish some form of link or pathway between the paralysed and functioning parts and too improve the body’s condition as much as possible to allow the client to be stronger, fitter and more independent. The approach is to target the entire nervous and musculoskeletal systems rather than only the functioning areas of the body. The centres uses a variety of weight-bearing activities, balance, stand training, gait and locomotor training, electrical stimulation, upper and lower body ergometry, vibration therapy and strength training. The benefits of this type of rehabilitation are improving muscle bulk, balance and trunk control, skin and bone health, neurological function, cardiovascular health, strength and stamina, and boosts psychological wellbeing.     

I’ve been attending every Wednesday morning and I absolutely love it, I’ve been training with Matt and 2 students called Jess and Ben, they are so motivational and the cardio and core strength I have built up already is fantastic, I sometimes make a short film for Instagram and Facebook and post pictures as this helps get the information about the program out there. I would really recommend this rehabilitation for anyone who has suffered a spinal injury or has a neurological medical condition. I am hoping to take part in a triathlon in August raising funds for this great centre.

 

While my life continues to be busier than ever in between work and home life I’ve been on Radio Bristol on the John Darvell show, For an interview about my horse riding accident and my life now and ambition to be back in the saddle, I really enjoyed this but I was so worried about swearing in conversation as it was live on air. This has opened up loads of other things and they want to film me at the yard riding for their social media channel. Recently I’ve been to the GWAA (Great Weston air ambulance) again to do an interview for HTV local news to help raise awareness for GWAA 10^th year anniversary.https://greatwesternairambulance.com

 As I’ve said before this team are absolute heroes. They have helped save the lives of so many. We are still making plans to organise a spring ball to help raise funds for this amazing charity. I absolutely love this charity they provide a flying A&E department for Bristol, Banes, Gloucestershire, South Gloucestershire, North Somerset and part of Wiltshire. On average they attend 5 incidents every day, and receive no government funding. It costs £3 million every year to keep this charity in the sky, so they need all the fundraising they can get and I hope to be able to give something back for them. Plans are afoot!!! .Stella said that we will be like the Kardashians soon with a fly on the wall documentary, as I have celebrity status!! I wish I could be paid for all these celebrity appearances and have the Kardashian money, as I could do with some extra!! Hahahhhaaa……

Well as we go from May in to June and my health and stamina is improving and also the weather, I still go to my weekly PT sessions with Seona at Frampton Fitness, working 2 days a week for Wellspect health care, I absolutely love this Job and the people I work with are lovely. I am so lucky to have got myself a job with this team. During May we had a party for the royal wedding, thanks Sue for organising that, I attended south glos food and drink show, in which my friend Mark can to with his new business, Pop goes prosecco!! Love this and he’s worked so hard to achieve this. I’ve been away for the weekend with Harry and Stella and we went to Windsor and joined access adventure for water-skiing!!  https://accessadventures.co.uk

Water-skiing was the best ever, we stayed at Heron Lake just of the M25 and the facilities that are set up here were great, all accessible rooms and showering facilities, the kids had an amazing weekend. We also dropped into Windsor castle and did the town, shopping and great Windsor Park. Both Harry and Stella can water ski as we have been to Cotswold Water Park a few times before. I also have enjoyed skiing in the past, but as everything I do no post injury it’s now completely different and a huge challenge. The people who I’ve met this weekend are so positive and great at making you feel at ease and getting you confident at skiing. The whole weekend was a huge achievement and I absolutely loved skiing.

Making new memories with Harry and Stella is so special now and meeting new friends who are so positive and great to have around. I have been catching up with other friends and going out as much as possible as I don’t actually have a kitchen at the moment!! The new kitchen has been delivered and the kitchen fitter is coming next week. I  also can’t wait to get in my garden as this too has been renovated, all ripped out, and raised so everything now is on a level for me to have easy access, Just still waiting for bi fold doors, wet-room to be finished and for things to get back to normal. I had 10 trades’ people in my house this week, and this is enough chaos for me!

I am busy planning training for the triathlon I am doing in August  please go to my link and sponsor me as this is a huge challenge for me http://www.justgiving.com/sallyanne-haigh and am not really looking forward to an operation that I need to have August time too, for my wrists, I have  lots to look forward and this is just the beginning!!

Boom lets do this !!!

   

 

Welcome Neurokinex to the team

neurokinex.org


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ci-Ks8dQpQM

 Back in December 2017 I was introduced to a new concept in physical rehabilitation and gym work, Seona my Personal trainer from Frampton fitness, knows a lot of people, she had been speaking to a friend of hers who is a nurse in specialist, who had attended the Para Olympics as part of the healthcare team linked to the wheelchair rugby. She had worked with a Gentleman called Ed Baker who has now  helped to set up a new type of gym in the Bristol area. The company already have 2 established gyms in Watford and Gatwick, Neurokinex provides activity based rehabilitation. The Bristol branch is an addition to the gyms in Watford and Gatwick which already specialise in neurological rehabilitation for various forms of paralysis.

Their vision is to make high quality rehabilitation and wellbeing programs more accessible and inclusive for those living with various forms of paralysis. They make it their responsibility to stay up to date with the latest breakthroughs in neuroscience, by delivering specialist neurological rehabilitation in such a safe, positive and supportive environment can have a profound impact on the quality of life for someone living with paralysis.  Neurokinex provide forms of rehabilitation to conditions such as spinal cord injury, stroke, transverse myelitis and multiple sclerosis.

 

Activity based rehabilitation has two main goals, to stimulate the whole body to work as one unit again and if possible to re-establish some form of link or pathway between the paralysed and functioning parts and too improve the body’s condition as much as possible to allow the client to be stronger, fitter and more independent. The approach is to target the entire nervous and musculoskeletal systems rather than only the functioning areas of the body. The centres uses a variety of weight-bearing activities, balance, stand training, gait and loco motor training, electrical stimulation, upper and lower body, vibration therapy and strength training. The benefits of this type of rehabilitation are improving muscle bulk, balance and trunk control, skin and bone health, neurological function, cardiovascular health, strength and stamina, and boosts psychological wellbeing.

I am now going to have weekly sessions at the gym in Bristol, working with the leg up for talent  scheme. I will provide weekly lifestyle blogs and the gym will cover and follow my journey and this will advertise the amazing benefits of neurokinex. I am over the moon, this is absolutely fantastic as all the benefits I will receive to help with my ongoing rehabilitation for my spinal injury and this will keep me in shape for my riding. I went this morning for a session. The session is an hour long and we start with some stretching. My feet are suffering from foot drop as the Achilles and calves have shortened, this means that my feet are always in a drop position, I have to stretch them every morning and massage my calves. I get quite a lot of resistance at first and the clonus is quite bad. (This is when my feet spasm). Ed has to work on getting me to flex and extend my feet and also we work up my legs and do lots of pushing away and pulling back to me. For my knees and thighs we do similar exercises and this is quite hard. The faces I pull are hilarious. Once we have stretched out the lower parts then he moves up to my hip flexors. This is also shortening from being sat in a wheelchair all day, it’s very painful to lie flat and my legs draw up so stretching this out is so helpful.

Following on from this I transfer into a EZ stand aid and I am then upright for my next lot of exercises which is hand bike and cardio. I have to sprint for 1 minuet on a high resistance and then rest, the aim is to increase my cardio output and blood flow,  this acts as a warm up and to prime the nervous system for the actives ahead in order to help with the circulation. By standing and weight bearing the nervous system  becomes more excitable and receptive to input,  I can feel my pins and needles tinging in my legs, it’s really hard to explain the feeling that I get from the pain as its nerve pain and there all the time always feels like I am sat in a cactus, it become like white noise though in the background, the more exercise and suppler my body is the better. I really want to work on the standing as my allowing my legs to have weight going through them help with the bone density and this will be very helpful for me moving forward with my riding.

 

Wow this gets me really out of breath and I can tell I need to get fitter; I am going to try a few things that might help this! We then move onto another machine which I have to do core strength. While in a stand position leaning forward from my waist and trying to pull back up. This trunk work in the standing position also uses the muscles around my hips, this will be really valuable with my position and riding, by working against gravity, using my trunk to bring me back up  is key  This is to help strengthen my back, which I find impossible to do at the moment, things will improve as I get stronger. By now I am shattered as the team are really good at pushing you to achieve more, so we go on, more pulling weights forward and leaning back and trying to pull myself up. Anyone who knows that due to my spinal injury my core stability has gone completely. I have worked really hard at the core/stomach to hold myself up. Otherwise I would just flop forward or backwards. This is really obvious when I am sat on the horse. My balance is shocking. I won’t give up easily though as I want to achieve this possibility of riding again. It’s hard for me mentally to try and forget how I did things before and now am trying to learn a new way of doing things; it is not so easy at my age!! Ha ha.

We finish the session with a machine that I lie on I think its called the total gym and again work with small movements to push and pull up my knees. I am performing weight bearing exercises, for my legs against resistance, I am helped to bend and straighten my legs and this is helping control a proportion of my bodyweight. My body gets feedback from my feet being in contact with the footplate, Ed is able to support this movement by ensuring I work in a safe range of motion and push  myself as hard as possible without danger. I have to really work hard and by now I am totally fatigued.


 I love the session especially being upright for so much of the session, this really feels good, I am working at getting up right into my stand frame at home and working up to being able to do this activity myself, as to stand and pull the straps around is quite hard for me, I have achieved it a couple of times. The more I do the easier it will become; I am working towards standing x3 a week for 1 hour. At the moment I need my hands to hold on, but as I work on releasing one hand at a time I will be able to do my hand exercises at the same time.

Go girl rehab goals!!!!             

       

Back to basics

Aww snow!! great a duvet day !!  

As I mentioned last month we have been battling with the weather, it been bitterly cold and we have even had snow and ice, this means that occasionally the arena has been frozen, it hasn’t stopped Beth’s schooling sessions with Flynn but the weather has just been against me the last few weeks.  It’s more about my spinal injury, circulation and me being outside at the yard. I find sitting for long periods outside makes me cold through to the bone!! And I can’t seem to warm up. We have managed to keep the weekly sessions going for  so long, but have had to admit defeat over the last couple of weeks, which has been a real shame as we were hoping to increase the amount of time in the saddle, to try and get me and Flynn working together a bit more. Beth and me have been perusing the Para dressage training and events diary and are trying to coordinate some sessions. These would be great to attend now as I feel I am ready to take on the next step, venturing out and about as our confidence is growing.

Mud !!

Mud !!

Snow, snow and more snow!!

  This elation and confidence has had a bit of a knock as in the last few weeks the inevitable happened, I fell off!! It was only a matter of time before this happened and I am sort of glad it’s happened. Me and Flynn have come so far in the last 6 months, and I think at times we have to remember how difficult this sport is and how having  a spinal injury is like learning to ride all over again for scratch but it’s so much harder than it was before!!. I think our new confidence got a bit carried away. He heheh. Well lucky for me I didn’t hurt myself?? We actually I am glad I can’t feel it as I am sure it would have hurt. Good job for the lovely arena surface at Beth’s yard the good old carpet and sand took the bounce off!! I was a bit shook up but in true style I got back in the saddle and off we went again.   

Let’s just remind ourselves of some of the facts, Flynn is a 7 year old Connemara and has been ridden as an up and coming event horse with Beth over the last 2 years, his personality is just amazing and so sensitive. That is why Beth saw something special in him and took him to her trainer Carl Hester to assess the ability of him for para dressage. Flynn was born in Ireland and started his life being hunted and ridden hard as a 3yr. old. Beth bought him from Ireland in 2013 and the original idea was to keep him for 12 months and sell him on, but she fell in love with him, this partnership is great to see, he loves Beth and he works so well for her. He is such a softy.  It’s important to remember when he came over from Ireland he was a little whip shy, probably from his early hard hunting days, and to start with he wasn’t a horse that you could ride with a whip. 

So this would be a problem if we can’t ride Flynn with a whip how’s he going to be a para dressage horse?? An learn to accept the whip as my leg aid! This is something we have been getting mixed messages about; we decided that by Beth schooling Flynn with 2 whips was the best way that he would get use to them being waved around by his side. Following one of my sessions with Nick Rodgers SW para coach, he advised that I should be the only one to ride Flynn with whips, so we don’t give him mixed messages, so after Nicks information that’s what we did, only I rode him with the whips, but I honestly think Flynn needs some more whip de-sensitising sessions.

 After watching the Video of me riding Flynn when I fell off, I think Flynn was unsettled by my balance and the whips. It seems that as I become more unbalanced and my position in the seat changed, I was unable to sit up. Once I’d gone too far forward due to having no core strength I couldn’t pull up. I then waved the whips around by Flynn head and pulled on the reins to try and regain my balance, turning him in a very tight circle, which actually made it worse. I think if I could learn from this fall I must next time think I have to drop the whips as soon as I become unbalanced, try to drop the reins and hold onto the Oh crap strap/neck strap and try and sit still even if that means falling on to Flynn’s neck. Then hope Flynn stands still while all this is going on top of him!!

whip desensitising!!  

No one said this was going to be easy, and as I saw the ground getting nearer, I waited for the thud! Well it all seemed to happen slowly until my legs gained momentum and came crashing down… Flynn didn’t do anything wrong and he was so worried and sad, we managed to get back in the wheelchair all very quickly and  wheeled back to the hoist and put back on before I had time to think about it, which was a good thing as I did knock mine and Flynn’s confidence.

So Beth and I have decided to go back to the drawing board with the whip de-sensitising and Beth is now schooling Flynn again with 2 whips, and plenty of waving them around is required, re training on standing still while lots of moving about on top, balancing and gathering reins. I think we have to work on what works for us and we have decided that this will help. By Flynn schooling regularly with Beth while I am unable to ride due to bad weather this will help keep him whip ready!!!

Due to not being in the saddle too much lately I have been doing lots of research. I’ve been watching loads of videos on u-tube of grade 2 para riders. I look at their position in the saddle, whether or not they are wearing leg straps/stirrups and how much they bounce in the seat during trot! The one thing that comes across when riders are interviewed about their horses is it’s not just about the horse’s movement. The horse has to have the perfect disposition in every way and the ability to focus on nothing else when it matters!! It also is about a great deal of trust between the horse and rider. I hope Flynn is going to be able to do all the things required of him, He certainly has the personality and is so sensitive, but at times he can still be quite babyish and wants to chew everything near him, and initially when the leaders are walking by the sides he tries to chew the lead ropes and this is defiantly showing signs of not concentrating when in the para zone!!

I need to remember it’s only been 6 months since I’ve really been having regular lessons and we have had the weather to cope with so we are really looking forward to the spring now and the better weather, as it has started to really get me down. I want to make quicker improvements but I can’t seem to progress what with one thing and another. I’ve also been referred by the Doctor for surgery to my hands; I have been suffering really badly from carpel tunnel syndrome which means that the circulation to my hands is compromised. I’ve been having cortisone injections for 18 months, into my wrists, but they only last about 12 weeks and once it wears off the pain is unbearable, it has got to the stage where it’s really affecting my transfers and independence. So it was something I didn’t want to have to have done but actually I hope it will help, it will again mean time away for at least 6 weeks post procedure and the recovery time will be quite hard, but I hope it will be worth it.

Lucky for me while the weather is not playing ball, I’ve still been able to go to the gym, and am pushing on with my training and I really need to push myself harder now as I can see some weight creeping on which is really hard to manage this being paralysed. I have no tone from the waist down so I am going to have to work really hard now with my core, perhaps more gym sessions and sessions at home too, I need to be more disciplined. I have been in the Frampton fitness gym today with PT Seona, one thing we are really starting to notice is my hip flexors are getting shorter and the pain on stretching me out is getting worse, my legs don’t lie flat anymore and always want to bend up, it’s really difficult for me to feel this discomfort and I would really like my legs to be more supple, even though I stretch them out daily myself. I've been in the equine gym at Hartpury and   I am also hoping to attend the Neurokinex centre more regularly and hope that this will improve all the concerns and stiffness I have. neurokinex.org    

I think all this will improve when the weather does. I am also still reducing my medication and have successfully come off one tablet and am still weening the last one down so hopefully this will help me feel not so foggy at times, as I am sure all the tablets I’ve been taking  over the last 2 years don’t actually help. I don’t seem to have any less pain now than I did when I was on huge doses of pain medication; gabapentin immediately after my accident.  I will always remember the consultant Mr Patel saying to me the only thing that works for nerve pain is distraction, it’s difficult to explain the sort of pain I get but it’s there all the time, sometimes so much worse than others. But the distraction tactic works well!!

As we move towards the end of March I will be starting my conversion and house extension in the next couple of weeks. This is going to be for about 12-16 weeks, it will be a really big upheaval for me and my family but I am really excited about the outcome and looking forward to having areas I can finally access in my house. I am not looking forward to the mess and dust! Well as always with me, you can’t make an omelette without cracking eggs.

     

  

 

   

I met my heroes

I'm in love ❤❤

The two most amazing critical care Drs..

wow GWAA thank you!!!  

Here is a link so you can give generously to this amazing charity, and here my story https://justgiving.com.gwaa 

My morning at GWAA (Great Weston Air ambulance) 

On Friday 17^th February it was arranged with the public relations and marketing team from the Gwaa charity that we would be able to visit the air base and meet the crew who attended my accident on 10^th October 2015. This has taken a little while to arrange as they had to go back over their records, and find out which members of the team were working that day and try and coordinate them being there to meet me. After a lot of sorting it out it was established that 3 critical care doctors were on shift that day!!! Ooooo lucky me!!. One of the team has since left but 2 memebers still work on the air ambulance and one was going to be working that day and one agreed to come in on his day off!

As it was half term I decided to take my daughter Stella as she was on holiday and my niece Jasmine, my dad and sister also attended with me. Both my dad and my sister (Vicky) were with me in the field following my accident as they had been called and as they don’t live too far from the venue where the accident happened they were able to get to me pretty quick.  They really wanted to come and meet the team who helped me on that day.

We pulled up at Filton where the air base is and were met by Becky Garland the GWAA charity PR coordinator. She explained what the visit would entail and showed us in to the air craft hanger. Becky explained before that if the crew get a call out they would have to go, which we fully understood. She said that 2 out of the 3 team members were here and looking forward to meeting me! It was at this point that I got a bit emotional and had a horrible lump in my throat and tears started welling up in my eyes!!  all of a sudden I realised I hadn’t had to think about the accident much and I think I had put it behind me. Probably all the counselling sessions had helped to deal with the trauma of the event and it now feels like something that could have happened to someone else.

When we walked through the door into the control hub all the feelings of anxiety vanished as we were met by the most amazing team of heroes you could ever imagine. I can’t say I recognised any of them!! Ha hah. We were introduced to critical care Dr Ed Valentine, Critical care Dr Greg Cranston both of who were in attendance at my accident. Also there today were critical care paramedics Matt and Dee. We all chatted a lot about the day and what happened and what happened after. Ed and Greg were the most amazing gentlemen. As I found out it was Dr Greg that held my hand and positioned himself in my line of vision all the time, giving me reassurance, it was this act of kindness that I will always remember as when I think back to that eventful day, I remember the extreme amount of pain I was in and someone being very close and reassuring all the time while things were going on around me. I now know what Dr Greg had shown me that this is what you need in times of trauma; I was so frightened he made me feel safe.

 Dr Ed and Dr Greg said that they probably have attended over 400 + call outs since my accident, but they remembered things about that particular day because I was fully conscious throughout the whole time. Normally a lot of accidents they attend either the patient are unconscious or they need to be ventilated due to their injuries. So this was something they remembered, me being awake!!!  They laughed and remembered me telling them how much morphine I had been given when they were talking amongst themselves; they remember me saying “I’ve had 15mg”.  I can’t believe how young they all are to be so senior in their jobs; Both Greg and Ed are consultants in emergency medicine full time at the Royal Gwent hospital in wales and work for GWAA charity on top of their normal hours, absolute heroes!!  

The team really welcomed me and my family and we chatted over coffee, they showed us the map and area they cover, they described what happens when a call comes in via Exeter ambulance call centre and how they triage the priority of the situation and if they should dispatch the helicopter. Every time they start to fly and the helicopter leaves the ground it cost £2000 just to start the engines, it actually costs the charity £3,000,000 per year to keep flying!!! Some support does come from the NHS in the form of all disposables carried on board and for treatment of patients.  The charity funds the lease of the helicopter as this is a more economical way of keeping a fully working helicopter, rather than owning it.

The charity has two permanent employed pilots and always requires a fully qualified paramedic to act as navigator when they get a call out. They work from 07.00-0100 as they don’t fly at night, but they also operate emergency critical care vehicles from this base. While we were there in 2 ½ hours they had 3 calls, where they dispatched the emergency vehicles to local situations. As Dr Greg had come in on his day off, he stayed with us throughout the visit... while Dr Ed valentine and the other members of the team went in and out to incidents.

After finding my place of injury on the map and Stella my daughter working out from the coordinates the estimated time of arrival it would take actually 5 mins to get to me over in Chipping Sodbury.  It takes the team 3 minutes from receiving the call till the helicopter leaves the ground. All in all it probably should only take about 8 minutes from receiving the call to actually finding me and landing in the field at Hollisters that day, it felt a lot longer than 8 minutes, it did feel like I was on the ground for ages though!!!

 Then Dr Greg took us outside to look found the helicopter, this actual one is not the one I went in as its been updated since Oct 2015, but it was really interesting to actually see how small it is and to see how all the kit fits in and god knows where the team sit!! Good job Dr Ed is small….!!!!  We spent ages looking round the helicopter and Stella and Jasmine got to sit inside and get a real feel of how small the space is!! It doesn’t seem possible to fit me on a stretcher, all the equipment and 3 doctors and the pilot. We were allowed to take lots of photographs and ask all sorts of questions, well you know me of course we needed to find out if these amazing gentleman were married ~?? to the job? Ha haha ha. We all had such an amazing morning, and have come away inspired to how we can raise money for such an amazing charity. At the top of this blog is links to the charity page, where you can donate, attend a race, run, walk, bike ride all aid of GWAA. We have decided we want to do a fund raiser, so the children are looking into doing the muddy run in Bath and we are having a committee meeting next week to throw some ideas together. I did suggest I do a parachute jump!! But I hate heights and my children said no!!  

I have agreed to do a case study for the GWAA so they can use my story to raise awareness for the good charity work they do and help raise funds to keep the helicopter flying  

   

January what a busy start to the year

Hello Julia have you had your hair done??? Neigh  looks Nice...

January has been a bit of a slow month, the weather has been really getting me down and the mud!!! I can’t go anywhere in my wheelchair doing the things I love without getting covered in mud. I’ve had to dig out my over-the-top water proof trousers, to keep me clean, but let’s just say it’s not easy getting these on now!!!  As I mentioned last month I was so pleased to get my classification Grade, and I have been researching the dressage tests that I will have to be able to ride, let’s just say it’s the trot thing that’s concerning me… Ha ha  ha 

 I am still waiting for the hoist to be installed near the arena, As I have said before this will make it so much easier for me and also open up the possibilities for Beth Hobbs to welcome other para riders to her yard and individuals who may have difficulty perhaps mounting their horse to be able to come to her yard for teaching. The possibilities are endless and we are just at the beginning of the journey!! It’s very exciting.

Unfortunately my recent RDA session with Nick Rogers South West para coach was cancelled this month, but hopefully this session will be re scheduled soon, and I will look forward to this! I am trying to work with the instructors at the RDA regarding  them coming out to Beth’s yard to see how me and Flynn are getting on and we are also hoping to take Flynn up to the RDA to have some sessions in the indoor school. (This would be great as having an outdoor arena to ride in does make it difficult at times as it’s been so cold and wet recently, all these ideas are in the pipeline so fingers crossed)

I haven’t been successful in securing a dressage saddle yet, but I am still working within the leg up for talent scheme and am still looking at options that would work for me. The best thing this month is the partnership that is growing between me and Flynn. He defiantly has become a lot more forward with me, and accepting my aids and what I am asking of him, even when I do get a little bit excited with the whip... Bless him; he sort of does a little scurry away underneath me! I do find holding the whip difficult and they still twist in my hands, and I end up waiving them about sometimes. But Flynn has got used to seeing the whips and feeling them on his side, considering he was a bit whip shy before I started riding him he is so good now.

On Monday the 29th Jan it was arranged that Julia Mottram my equine physio would come out to the yard to do a ridden session with me and Flynn again. Well Monday morning didn’t go quite according to plan for me and some days just don’t!! I ended up at the vets with my dog Alfie as over the Weekend he managed to cut his lip/gum and after a weekend of muddy walks and lots of licking, by the time I saw it on Monday it looked pretty gunky! Well he had to have his beard trimmed and he was prodded and poked, he was so good. The area was infected so antibiotics and anti-inflammatories for a week for Alfie. The weather was really horrid and was raining and really windy so after a para team discussion about what we should do, we made an executive decision not to ride, this does disappoint me, as I really look forward to my lessons. It’s the only time every week I get out of the confines of my wheelchair and I feel free. You wouldn’t believe how it makes me feel.

We have been making really good progress with the riding so to keep things on a high; we decided using the hoist in the car park to mount in these winds was not a good idea. The wind may easily blow me in the hoist making it difficult to make a safe landing onto Flynn. Sometimes I forget that we must risk assess the situation before deciding to ride. The rain also doesn’t help.  It has been so cold lately that due to my injury I have been suffering with leg spasms also due to the very poor circulation from my waist down, I feel freezing to touch and my legs and feet are like ice which is not good for my muscles to be so cold. I don’t actually feel cold which is quite weird.  I wonder if thermal leggings/jodhpurs and socks would make me more comfortable??   Roll on the warmer weather that’s what I think...

 Julia asked to see Flynn on the lunge, Good job Beth was around as I haven’t ventured into the arena in my wheelchair! Due to the dip down into it. I would probably tip out my wheelchair at that bit. Not sure I would do well lunging, (but it’s something to think about having a go at??) Beth said Flynn doesn’t really like being lunged and he was quite lazy today. Beth had to get the schooling whip and chase after him!!  Julia wanted to see Flynn walk, trot and canter on both reins so she could watch his movements and assess him. 

For today’s session we normally allocate about 60-90 minutes, so he can be treated and we can talk through what Julia does and why it’s necessary and discuss homework and how we can help improve Flynn’s stiffness and maintain the work Julia does with him .Julia suggests regular physiotherapy, check-ups and treatment can improve the comfort, behaviour and performance of the horse. By having regular maintenance physio it improves muscle balance and symmetry. This is something that is proving to be really important for me due to my balance being poor, I think Flynn looks to help me and this probably compromises his symmetry. Once the initial assessment of Flynn’s movements was done, it was back onto the yard for Julia’s verdict and treatment.  

Julia palpated the muscles and landmarks across Flynn’s spine looking for irregularities and signs of dysfunction. Flynn looked to be showing signs of being stiff on the left side, and all up through his neck.  Julia worked through a combination of physiotherapy, massage and trigger point release. Paying particular attention to the myofascial release.  Myofascial release uses sustained hands on pressure into a fascial restriction for several minutes in one area. Myo means muscles and fascia means the connective tissue of the bones, nerves, organs and muscle’s. This treatment benefits Flynn with any inflammation, muscle and nerve pain he might have, by using the heat from the hands to create change, it can help to reduce inflammation, strengthen and elongate tissues, which will help increase power, strength, endurance and metabolic efficiency.

I think Flynn is starting to enjoy his sessions with Julia. And after a while he looked like he’s falling asleep. After the session we debrief and have been given some homework to do of carrot stretches and work on   schooling with lots of bending. I think Beth will have to school Flynn to get him working and bending, and let’s see if she can get him a little suppler.

 Today my daughters horse Spot was going to start sessions with Julia as well.  Beth was worried that spot’s pelvis could have been out of alignment, as she felt unbalanced under the saddle when she had ridden Spot, but lucky for Spot all was ok, and she too enjoyed a physio session. Spot is 22 so she is allowed to be a little stiff. Stella absolutely adores Spot; Riding has really helped Stella come to terms with my accident and how life changing a spinal injury is. The accident has caused a huge ripple effect with so many family and friends being affected. Being around horses again has helped Stella and me come to terms with me being in a wheelchair. (EAT equine assisted therapy is a treatment that uses equine environment or activities in order to promote physical and emotional growth in people suffering from trauma, anxiety and depression) This environment is helping Stella so much.  

 My daughter Stella is really keen to see what Julia’s Job entails and has arranged a week’s work experience and is really looking forward to this later on in the year.  Julia is very knowledgeable and excellent at what she does. I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend her. The fact that Julia is trained in human physiotherapy and equine allows her to tailor the requirements to you and your horse and set specific achievable goals. Flynn and I can’t wait till our next session; we have so much to work on. Thanks Julia your amazing. 

Lots of things are progressing on the home front, I have taken delivery of a skip to sort out the last 10years of junk that I don’t need in the house anymore and am sorting things out to keep or throw away. Let’s be honest most things can go into to skip as if I haven’t needed them in the last 2 years I don’t need it!!! I am cleaning out the garage and getting rid of the furniture so we can start the big build in early 2018.

OMG where to start!!!

I am extremely appreciative of every single person who over the last 18 months has helped with some form of fund raising. They have all contributed to making my home a more accessible place and keeping my mental health intact. I have worked so hard at keeping it all together all be it sometimes this has proved rather difficult.  I have been able to tile and paint the en-suite, paint and carpet the hall, stairs and landing, build, decorate and floor an office space, Have an amazing holiday which after 25 years of working for the NHS was extremely necessary, and when you think what we have been through as a family, it’s a small price to pay to be together making new memories.

The help from friends and sponsors who have supported my para riding so far it has been fantastic. This  has provide me with a lorry hoist, hat, air jackets,  SW para training coaching sessions, BD classifications applications, Private consultations for spinal reviews and so many more amazing things to come. I can’t wait for the developments during 2018. Let’s just say when the chips are down you certainly know who your friends are!! So much is happening lately that I am here there and everywhere, and with the help from so many amazing friends there is actually no stopping me. Well I think you would agree January has been pretty busy. So let’s make sure this is the best start to the most amazing year as we go into 2018.

Bring it on!!!