Support Joe’s journey

The accident

On Saturday 23rd July 2022, our good friend Joe sustained a life changing injury after a motor cross accident. Joe was quickly air lifted to the royal stoke university hospital, and taken for emergency CT scan, which revealed the devastating extent of his injury. Joes’ accident had left him fracturing and dislocating his vertebrae and suffering major trauma to his spinal cord and needing emergency surgery to re set his spine and relieve his cord. After 8 hours of spinal surgery, Joe woke up in critical care to the realisation that he had no feeling, from the chest down, he was paralysed.

New dad

Three weeks prior to Joe's accident, him and his partner Kelly, welcomed their beautiful baby daughter Myla into the world. The three of them were in their little bubble, adjusting to life with a new baby in it. As you can imagine the accident tore their life apart, and the early days following the accident were extremely difficult and worrying.

 

About Joe

Joe is one of those guys who would do anything for anyone. He is hardworking, caring, funny, cheeky and extremely lovable. Up to the date of the accident Joe was a builder / carpenter which he very much loved and had a talent for. Joe loved to attend the gym regularly, also had a passion for motor cross, which he enjoyed most weekends. Joe is now a full-time wheelchair user. With Joe being such an active person, this came as a real shock and has made a real impact on his life and future.

Recovery / Rehab

Joe spent a total of 8 weeks at Stoke hospital, lay flat on his back. Lying flat on his back was essential as part of the spinal shock recovery. Kelly, his partner, visited daily, to help with his needs, as well as helping the doctors and nurses to help him along the way. Baby Myla also went along to visit her daddy occasionally to help keep Joes spirits up, and to have essential bonding. On 17th September 2022, Joe was transferred to a specialist spinal unit at The Robert Jones and Agnes Hunt Orthopaedic Hospital in Oswestry. He remained on flat bed rest for a further 2 weeks, due to a pressure sore. For all that know Joe well, this was very frustrating as he wanted to proceed with his rehabilitation process. Once his skin healed, there was no stopping him. The next 7 weeks were tough and challenging, but Joe pushed himself to do all that was asked of him and more. The early stages of his rehab included challenges of sitting up, transferring, learning to balance again, and to use a wheelchair. Whilst here on his rahab journey, Joe got to use the hydrotherapy pool which he enjoyed, learnt basic wheelchair skills, able to use their gym for upper body work alongside their physios, all in preparation for his discharge. Joe was always determined to be back home for Christmas, to spend with his family for Myla’s first Christmas. Joe was discharged from Oswestry on 23rd November 2022. Since being home as a family, it soon became clear that things were not going to be easy, and more challenges faced them. Joes’ mental health has suffered throughout this journey and continues to do so. Joe, Kelly, and Myla, are still not in their own home due to further adaptation needing to be carried out to ensure Joe leads a safe, independent life. Day to day life is very different for them all, and things take a little longer, however he shows daily determination in all he does, and keeps a positive mind.

The challenge

We are a group of close friends of Joes and are wanting to do all we can to help him on his journey. We have set ourselves the challenge of The National 3 peaks - Ben Nevis, Scafell Pike and Snowdon (the 3 highest mountains in Scotland, England & Wales), the challenge is to climb all three mountains within a 24-hour time period, on 12th August 2023– We must be mad! Our aim is to raise funds to be able to help towards purchasing of vital equipment which will benefit Joes physical and mental health, as well as his future. One of the pieces of equipment we would really love to be able to fund, is the purchase of an FES Bike. These bikes use pulses of electrical current to stimulate peripheral nerves. FES is applied using adhesive pads placed over the muscle to be activated. When activated, it generates muscle contractions and patterned muscle activity. With restorative therapies systems, FES creates patterned movement in the arms, legs, and trunk. In people with weak or paralysed muscles, FES enables muscles to work and perform activities, even if the individual may not be able to consciously participate. Users can also stimulate core erector spinal muscles and abdominal muscles during the therapy session. This group of muscles are important for posture, balance, transferring, reaching, and coughing. There are some great beneficial pieces of equipment that would really help Joes daily needs, as well as physio, and gym sessions. These would all contribute to getting Joe back to a physical life he loved. We know, in the future that Joe would love the opportunity to attend a rehabilitation centre called Neuro Kinex, based in the UK, where they focus on activities for people living with paralysis. As you can imagine, like anything, these don’t come cheap, and there is a huge range of expenses associated with recovery, but we know with people’s kind hearts and generosity, we can make this happen for Joe.

Thank you

We would all like to take this opportunity to thank you for taking the time in reading the above. Joe and the family have received a huge amount of love and well wishes throughout this journey. We look forward to updating you on the progress of Joes journey and thank you again from the bottom of our hearts.