One woman who was told to 'expect the worst' after falling and breaking neck has miraculously learnt to walk again.
Sheila Ormston, 69, from Northumberland, England, was put in hospital back in November last year after unfortunately slipping on a doorstep and breaking her neck.
During the accident, Sheila, a social worker, hit her head and was rushed for surgery where doctors told family they should 'expect the worst'.
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Clearly a fighter, the woman pushed through the surgery and went on to spend three months in hospital relearning how to walk and move her hands.
Remembering the life-changing incident, she said: "I knew immediately I had no feeling from my neck down. We had to be prepared for the worst outcome, that I wouldn’t be here today, but it’s a risk we needed to take."
Thankfully, the music lover learned to walk again with one particular event in mind that she was dying to attend - a Cliff Richard concert.
"My son in law said, 'You’ve got to survive this thing' and I said, 'I will, I’ve got my Cliff Richard tour to go on. That was always my long term goal," Sheila revealed.
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She went on: "The elephant in the room was always would I be able to walk again, no one knew if it was possible. I’m very grateful that I’m one of the ones who was able to walk out of the hospital."
Sheila’s accident not only meant she couldn’t walk but she also couldn’t use her hands for simple tasks.
Her daughter, Nicki Burton, said: "She hasn’t got the same feeling in her hands as we have and we take that for granted a lot of the time.
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"It’s the simple tasks that take her so long to do, if she’s got her eyes closed she’s got no idea where her arms are so she uses a mirror for some things."
Sheila added: "I use the mirror to find the button on the electric recliner, thank goodness it’s not a manual one, I wouldn’t be able to do it."
Following her speedy recovery, Sheila’s daughters Nicki, and Tracy Crook have organised a heartfelt gesture to say thank you to the incredible hospital staff.
The pair will now take part in a two day walk to raise a goal of £500, which has already doubled.
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They will walk 55 miles from the James Cook Hospital where Sheila stayed for three months, all the way back to their home in Blyth.
Nicki said: "We wanted to do something that we could do all together, we wanted a challenging journey. Day two will be the more emotional side of things because we’ve got more family and friends coming to join us.
"We couldn’t travel to the hospital every day but we knew that mum was well cared for, this is just our way of giving back for that."
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Sheila has since made the decision to join the group on their last three miles of the walk, one mile for every month she was in hospital.
"I’m not stubborn, I’m determined! I don’t even think I walked three miles before the accident so it will be a challenge," she revealed.
Rhiannon Ingle