Roy sustained a C6 complete Spinal Cord Injury in 1992 through a fall after a night out with friends when he was 24 years old.   He works as an Aspire Independent Living Advisor and has twins, Henry and Izzy, born through IVF in 2011.

My injury means I have limited use of my arms and no use or feeling of my hands and body from my armpits down.  Initially my injury had a huge impact on my life. I was unable to do my job, live in the same home or drive my car, and that’s without even considering the impact of my physical and psychological issues. Following my rehabilitation I moved into an assessible home and gradually started to rebuild my life. 

I wanted to become an Independent Living Advisor to give something back to Aspire for the support I received after my injury. I think Aspire is a fantastic spinal injury charity who offer important support and services to spinal cord injured people and their families.  I enjoy working with a great team of likeminded people and sharing my knowledge, which I hope will have a positive impact on people with Spinal Cord Injury and their families.

My children were born 16 years after my injury.  Once I met my wife, Lucy, in 2006, it just seemed like the natural thing to do.  So, two years after meeting, we got married and decided to try having children through IVF.  When we started the process Lucy was in her early 30s and I was 42.

The NHS offered us one cycle and we were led through the process by our fertility team.  My injury didn’t affect the process of applying for IVF because our fertility consultant was used to supporting people with Spinal Cord Injury.  As for everyone who goes through this process, it was, of course, rather daunting and gruelling, with all the blood tests and scans for Lucy, and then the waiting period to see if the treatment had worked.  The NHS cycle was not successful so we had to pay for other cycles ourselves, several times, in London and Salisbury.

Having children has changed my life in the same way as it would with any parent, although we have had to adapt when doing everyday activities with all the family, just as I had to adapt after my injury.

We enjoy cycling, walking and rolling in our local forest, gardening, going to the cinema, picnics and days out visiting museums and historic buildings and gardens. 

 

Independent Living

Living with Spinal Cord Injury

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