Anthony’s story: A new start after spinal cord injury
8 January 2025
Meet Anthony:
– A family man, currently awaiting the birth of his first granddaughter
– Enjoys football and fishing
– Based in a small village outside of Oldham
Anthony spent over thirty years working as a chef, loving the fast-paced environment of working in a kitchen. However, he started developing persistent back pain as the years went on. He figured it could have been for a few different reasons – long shifts, a car crash he was in when he was younger, or falls while working.
“As a chef I was working 12 hour day on my feet. The adrenaline of a shift would carry me through to the end of the day, but by the time I finished the pain would be excruciating.
“I wanted to do my job the best I could, but my pain was getting worse and worse.”
Eventually, after speaking to his doctor and having an MRI scan, the cause of Anthony’s pain had been discovered. He had a benign tumour on his spinal cord, which had damaged it at the L1 and L2 levels.
Most of the tumour was removed in surgery, and was found to be non cancerous, but the damage had already been done. The tumour had fused with the nerves all around the base of his spine.
Anthony says that, following his surgery, he found himself having a “horrible experience”. He contracted sepsis, and had to have additional surgery to clear it from his central nervous system.
“My time spent in hospital had a huge mental effect on me. It changed how I conducted myself, it was awful.
“Coming out of hospital after sustaining a spinal cord injury, it’s almost like you’re totally fresh. You need to relearn everything.”
Every spinal cord injury is as unique as the person who sustains it – and the same goes for the challenges faced by the injured individual. In Anthony’s case, he struggled with losing things he had taken for granted before his injury.
“I was struggling to process everything. As well as the pain, I was dealing with loss of bladder and bowel control and sexual dysfunction. For all of that to go away overnight, it had a huge impact on my mental health.
Fortunately, Back Up was there to support Anthony. We showed him that living well can be possible again after spinal cord injury.
After discovering us online, Anthony registered for our mentoring service. He was initially a bit apprehensive to talk about his problems, but he immediately realised he was talking to someone who understood what he was going through.
“I thought talking about what I was going through would cause more pain, but after speaking to my mentor everything just fell into place. It couldn’t have been any better.”
Anthony’s mentor had lived with a spinal cord injury for longer than him, and had a lot of experience of tackling the problems Anthony was now facing.
“I’m at the beginning of my journey, but my mentor had lived with a spinal cord injury for seven years. He told me about the issues he faced, returning to work, relationships, and more.
“He also gave me practical tips for things around the house to help me live independently – from shoe horns to extendable grabbers. Things you wouldn’t have thought of, but they make a massive difference.”
Going forwards, Anthony is able to put what he learned into practice to live well again after spinal cord injury. His goals are to keep being positive for his family as his first granddaughter arrives, and to get out of the house more.
Fortunately, Anthony knows that Back Up is still here if he needs support. He has used our Back Up Lounge service in the past – our online space for everyone affected by spinal cord injury. Here, people affected by spinal cord injury can come together on a fortnightly Zoom call to discuss the problems that matter to them.
“It’s nice to know there’s other people out there going through similar things. It can be lonely sometimes, so it’s good to reach out to others who can help pick you up.
“I have nothing but praise for Back Up. The services they provide are fantastic.”
Looking for support after spinal cord injury? You can register for our services here.
