I was paralysed by a spinal cord injury on 20^th August 2021 when I fell down the stairs.  I was taken to the Princess Royal Spinal Cord Injuries Centre at the Northern General Hospital in Sheffield where I have been ever since. When I was first told I had a spinal cord injury I felt angry and dismayed and my friends and family were devastated. 

I heard about Aspire from Gaye, one of their Assistive Technologists, who came to see me in the Spinal Injury Centre. I am 68 and before my injury I wasn’t using any technology at all.  I only had a push button phone and was a bit of a technophobe!

I have restricted head, shoulder and elbow movement but Gaye showed me how to use an iPhone and iPad using Siri and voice control.

Being able to use these has improved my life no end and given me a new sense of purpose. If I hadn’t been shown how to use these, I would have been extremely bored over the last few months. 

I’m able to use WhatsApp and Facebook Messenger for video calling my family, which was invaluable during times they weren’t able to visit due to Covid restrictions.  Being able to search the internet has meant I can keep up with some of my hobbies, such as horse racing, and I use the Libby app to read books online from the library.

I’d like to thank Gaye for her patience and dedication in helping me to get online. 

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