Marthalf's profile

Last weekend my sons and I visited https://www.horatiosgarden.org.uk/ with my incredible aunt, Dido, who has been volunteering there for 5 years. It was wonderful to see the impact the plants, flowers and garden room were having on the spinal injury patients and their families. Stoke Mandeville is one of the leading spinal units in the UK but it is still a challenging environment to spend months and months as you recover from life changing injuries. The low rise, dark wards are in stark contrast to the bright, cheery and green outside space built and maintained by HG. You can see from the photo the beautiful wooden building that people can enjoy,

We met multiple patients and their carers who told us about the palpable difference that the charity has made. One woman has been coming to the hospital every day since her husbands accident and said “I would not be able to cope if I couldn’t come to this space, every day my only mission is to get him out of the ward, into his wheelchair and over here”.

I often reflect on how it’s the strangest role of the dice that I broke 28 bones but I can walk  and hopefully quite far with the help of my sticks! Yet some of the people we met broke one or even no bones but will never walk again. It is imperative to help  and give some joy into the daily life in hospital by supporting HG.

Felix and Milo were the smallest volunteers but they helped clean the tables, empty the dishwasher and offer round cakes and sweets. They loved it and told me afterwards “what a cool place Mama”.

Let’s go! I want to turn the 20th anniversary of the car crash that changed my life forever into something positive.

Training has begun, friends and family are ready to launch off at the bottom of the mountains - time to start the climbs :-)

20th April is snowden

4th may is scafell pike

7th sept is ben nevis