A paralysed teenager from Lydney was featured in a BBC Children in Need film to raise awareness of spinal cord injury and the work of charity Back Up.
Ashleigh Harris, buy 17, was selected to feature in the Children in Need film following her involvement with Back Up, a charity that helps thousands of people rebuild their confidence and independence after spinal cord injury.
Every year 40-50 children in the UK will become paralysed through accident or illness. Back Up is the only UK charity with dedicated services for children and young people who are paralysed.
BBC Children in Need provides grants to projects in the UK which focus on children and young people who are disadvantaged. Back Up receives support from Children in Need for their work with young people like Ashleigh.
In 2012, Ashleigh’s life changed forever when a horse riding accident left her permanently paralysed from the waist down. “After my injury, I went through depression, self harmed and overdosed,” Ashleigh said. “Everything turned upside down and I was angry at myself.”
When Ashleigh was discharged from hospital, it was hard to return home as her house was not adapted. “I slept in my dining room for months,” Ashleigh said. “I was very dependent on everyone around me.”
She first heard about Back Up in hospital and decided to go on a Back Up residential course. “It’s hard to explain how much the course helped me,” Ashleigh said. “It helped me to face my fears and I got back on a horse. When I got home, my mum said it felt like the old Ashleigh was back.”
Since being involved with Back Up, she has trained as a young wheelchair skills trainer and supports other young people in a similar situation.
Ashleigh took part in the BBC Children in Need film to spread the word about what Back Up has done for her. “Back Up has challenged me and pushed me to become more confident and independent. I want others to get that help,” she said.
“Three years down the line and life feels normal again,” Ashleigh said. She now feels more positive about the future, plays in her regional wheelchair basketball team, travels and even worked in London. “So many things have come out of a bad situation and Back Up has been instrumental in making it happen,” she said.
“Ashleigh is a wonderful young lady, with a can do attitude to live life to the full,” Beth Scrimshaw, Back Up’s Under 18s Manager, said. “She knows that life with a spinal cord injury can be hard but she felt it was important to get the message out that, with the right support, life with a spinal cord injury can be good.”
All the money raised for Back Up will help provide vital support for children and young people who are struggling to adjust to life with paralysis. Ashleigh’s film was broadcast during the One Big Night concert for Children Need on November 12 on BBC One and is still available to watch on BBC Iplayer: bbc.in/1NqM081