Tim’s true love was taken away when he broke his neck. Once an avid adventurer, climbing rock faces, running in the hills and cycling through the forests of a weekend, his life stagnated in an instant when he broke his neck while swimming.
At 19 years old, he was suddenly rendered tetraplegic and lost the ability to use his lower body. He was incapable of doing the things that made him happy, not to mention walking and stretching his legs, which so many of us take for granted.
"Having been a very active outdoors type, I found myself in a negative spiral of frustration and depression."
Can you even imagine everything about your life changing so suddenly? You'd have to learn how to go about your daily life in a completely different way. No more trekking, swimming or cycling, that's for sure!
... Or is it for sure? Not if Regain can help it
Deciding it was time to break this spiral, Tim reached out to Regain, the only charity dedicated to helping people who have become tetraplegic in a sporting incident. Regain gave Tim a grant to get a hand-bike and he hasn't looked back since.
"Cycling had always been my first love, having lived on a bike since the age of about three or four. So to see how relatively easy it could be to return to being a cyclist with a little support inspired me more than anything else.
Just like before, I now go everywhere possible on my bike. I’ve entered local fun runs, ridden with my dog in the parks, use it to visit friends and relatives and of course, it takes me to the pub!
All of this is great, but it’s the sense of freedom and independence that I’ve regained that means the most and makes me most grateful to Regain."
