Iwan’s story – living confidently

25 September 2024

While travelling to work one morning, I was in a car crash, and sustained a spinal cord injury. You never expect something like this to happen to you – but then it does, and you just need to make the most of it.

I wanted to get on with things – to be positive and live my life as best I could again. But you can start to feel a bit isolated and institutionalised in hospital. Everyone you know is carrying on as normal, but your life has changed drastically. Leaving hospital can feel especially daunting – going to bars, restaurants, even just going to the park. Everything just feels tougher.

I needed some motivation, so I signed up for a Back Up Multi Activity Course. This gave me the confidence I needed to get back to living life again.

The course was such a positive experience. I met so many others in similar situations who were just getting on with life. It made me realise that I had no reason to mourn anything from before my injury. Some of the people I met had been injured for five years, or even longer. Talking to them and hearing their advice gave me so much confidence.

One of the best things about Back Up’s courses is that they get you out of your comfort zone. I was able to spend a good length of time away from home, trying out different activities every day. My favourite was canoeing. It felt amazing being out on the lake in the open air, in a boat with three others who also have a spinal cord injury. I didn’t think I’d have been able to do something like that before I found BackUp.

Since the course I’ve enjoyed returning to work. I’m back in the same car dealership I worked in before my injury, three days a week. I also enjoy keeping active. I’m training for the Cardiff half marathon, and I’m also planning to try wheelchair tennis.

My wheelchair skills are also continuing to improve. I hope one day to become a volunteer wheelchair skills trainer for Back Up, so I can help others the way Back Up helped me.

Learn how Back Up’s services are supporting more people than ever before:

Read our 2023/24 impact report