Get daily celeb exclusives and behind the scenes house tours direct to your inboxMore Newsletters SubscribePlease enter a valid emailSomething went wrong, please try again later.More NewslettersWe use your sign-up to provide content in ways you’ve consented to and improve our understanding of you. This may include adverts from us and third parties based on our knowledge of you. More infoThank you for subscribing!We have more newslettersShow me See OurPrivacy Notice See OurPrivacy Notice×Group 28 Get daily celeb exclusives and behind the scenes house tours direct to your inboxInvalid emailSomething went wrong, please try again later.Sign UpNo thanks, closeWe use your sign-up to provide content in ways you’ve consented to and improve our understanding of you. This may include adverts from us and third parties based on our knowledge of you. More info×Group 28Thank you for subscribing!We have more newslettersShow MeNo thanks, closeSee our
Privacy NoticeWhile Jade Almond learned how to walk again during months of gruelling physiotherapy, she looked forward to being able to play football again and trips to restaurants with her family. The accident that had left her reliant on crutches was a distant memory and, after seven months of treatment, it seemed like life could finally return to normal. But, in a terrible twist of fate, on the drive back from her last round of treatment, she was involved in a car crash that left her immobile for a second time. “I remember my mum screaming and the car went into the back of us and everything went fuzzy,” says Jade, now 21. “I thought I was OK, but then I started throwing up and feeling out of it. “By the time we got to A&E, I couldn’t move. I had no strength. I couldn’t believe this had happened to me again.” It’s a testament to her resilience that Jade has once again overcome the odds and made a second incredible recovery. Now studying to be a teacher, she is determined to inspire others. “I’m looking forward to what the future holds,” she says, smiling.
Jade Almond (pictured with her mum Michelle) was paralysed twice after accidents
(Image: PP,)
Read More
Related Articles
‘I’m paraplegic and had quads – my 3 surviving babies all need wheelchairs too’
Read More
Related Articles
‘My psoriasis was so bad I was compared to a burns victim – my skin was on fire’
Jade’s first accident happened in 2018 when she was 16 and a promising goalkeeper playing for Wigan Athletic women’s team. “I started playing when I was eight or nine years old and my original plan was to become a football coach when I finished school,” says Jade, who is a student at Liverpool Hope University. “We would play matches on the weekend and train midweek. My whole life was very sports-orientated.” It was also very family-focused, with Jade sharing a close bond with her siblings – brother Guy, 25, and sister Josie, 20. But Jade’s life changed when she volunteered for a youth charity, the National Citizen Service, based in Manchester. “I think I was swinging on my chair,” recalls Jade, of the moment which altered everything. “I fell backwards and bumped my head. I felt nothing at first, but when we went back to our accommodation I suddenly felt dizzy.” Soon afterwards, she developed a profound tremor. “My leg was so shaky I needed crutches,” she says. Jade had a severe form of functional neurological disorder, a debilitating condition that stops the brain communicating with the body. But it wasn’t just the physical impact of the illness that was hard. Jade had to endure people making fun of her limp and the fact that she had to use crutches. “I was at college doing two A levels and a football course and, being the new girl, it was really difficult,” she says. “No one wanted to be my friend and I would eat my lunch in the toilet to avoid people making fun of me. It was horrible.”
Jade’s boyfriend Tom has been a great support to her and she hopes he’ll propose after his masters ends
(Image: PP,)
A severe setback Desperate to help her recovery, Jade’s parents – government worker Michelle, 45, and carer Paul, 55 – sent her to Steps rehabilitation centre in Sheffield, hoping to cure her of the condition. But with the NHS not offering the residential treatment and long hours of physio she needed, the financial impact was huge. “It cost £550 a day so my parents had to save for months and do some crowdfunding to pay for just one week of treatment,” says Jade. “My biggest goal was just to climb the stairs again. It was amazing when – after seven months of hard work – I could finally do it without falling. “It was like, finally, we’ve done it! My friends shot some video of me walking unaided to show how far I had come. I was excited about going back to college, playing football and doing simple things like having a meal out with my family.” But fate had other plans. “It was on the way back from my final day of rehab that the second accident happened,” says Jade. “I remember the motorway had slowed because of some roadworks or something and everyone had stopped.” It was then that their car was involved in the collision which would devastate Jade’s health for a second time. “I was in hospital for two months and spent the rest of the year at a rehab centre,” she says. “I needed full-time carers so I couldn’t go home. There was no privacy in hospital and, for a 16-year-old about to turn 17, it was awful. All of my friends were getting on with their lives, yet I was in a wheelchair and didn’t even have the strength to push myself around.” After two months in hospital, Jade went back to Steps for intensive physiotherapy, this time paid for by the NHS. “It was much worse the second time,” she says. “I couldn’t bear that I couldn’t move and sometimes I was very close to feeling, ‘I’ve had enough and I just want this to end.’ I couldn’t sit up, my head was so floppy. I had whiplash and was in so much pain.”
Jade’s undergone months of treatment and physiotherapy
(Image: PP,)
She admits her mental health suffered too. “It was the worst time of my life,” Jade says. “Seeing all my friends going out and partying and having fun while I was paralysed was horrible. “I used to worry about all the things I was missing out on and whether I would ever be able to walk again.” What kept her going was the support of her parents and boyfriend Tom. “Once the pain eased, the physios started building up my strength with exercises so I could at least sit up. My legs had flickers of movement and they worked on the muscles in them. They had an exoskeleton at Steps, a bit like a transformer, that stands you up. It gives you the feeling of walking again so your muscle memory kicks in. “After a while, I started to make progress and the smallest thing – like being able to wiggle my thumb again – gave me hope. I told myself, ‘I will get better if I keep trying.’ Don’t give up the fight Jade was forced to leave Steps in March 2020 when the pandemic hit. “I was at the point where I could take slow steps using a Zimmer frame-type thing.” she says. “When I first tried to stand it was like walking on pins – I had been in a wheelchair for so long.” It wasn’t until October 2020 that she could finally walk again unaided. And she’s hopeful of further good news in the future. “Tom has been there for me since the beginning. We’d been together for about a year when I had the first accident and he jumped straight into action. I feel very lucky to have him. “I have mentioned getting married and I’ve told him how I want him to propose. But whether he will or not, I don’t know. I think he might do it when he’s finished his architecture master’s at uni.” And Jade has a message for others facing adversity. “There was a time I thought I’d never get better but I’m proof that no matter how tough things get – and how down you get – life is worth fighting for,” she says. Story SavedYou can find this story in My Bookmarks.Or by navigating to the user icon in the top right.Follow OK! MagazineFacebookTwitterMore OnReal LifeHealth
