She’s a walking miracle
Published: July 1, 2005
A 61-year-old paralysed Exmouth woman - who has defied doctors and learned to walk again - has spoken of her four-year battle so that her story might encourage others.
Anita Rook, of Albert Place, became paralysed from the waist down in November 2001 after an abscess was found on her spinal cord following an operation to staple her stomach.
Until recently, Anita has been confined to a wheelchair and two years ago tried to commit suicide after becoming severely depressed by her condition and hitting rock bottom after her son, Andrew Spiller, 36, suddenly died.
She said it was thanks to her ‘guardian angel’ carer, Sharon Marsh, 40, and her team that she was now able to walk for a short distance using a Zimmer frame, despite doctors and physiotherapists telling her that she would always be paralysed.
Anita, a former secretary at Friends Provident, Clyst St Mary, who had battled with her weight for many years before opting for the stomach-shrinking operation, said: “This shows that you should never give up.
“You have got to keep pushing and don’t just accept what has happened.
“I couldn’t feel anything from the waist down. I was told that I was paraplegic and would never walk again.
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Chicken Soup for the Soul: Living Your Dreams“The thought of being in a wheelchair for the rest of my life and being looked after by someone… not being able to do anything for myself except brush my teeth and have a wash… it made me just burst out crying.
“I had always been a very active person. It’s terrible when you suddenly find that you don’t know when you are going to the toilet and people are having to do everything for you. You are at their mercy. It’s a different world in a wheelchair.”
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