Margaret’s Story

Margaret lives in Mountain Ash. She is married with two daughters, a son and three grandchildren. She will be celebrating her 50th wedding anniversary next year.

Married to an RAF Serviceman it was difficult to attain a full-time dedicated career, they travelled extensively, living in Germany and Cyprus which were the most interesting but more homely places such as Norfolk, Nottingham and even Grimsby made the list. During their time stationed in such places they met many different people some of which became lifelong friends, the RAF community holds a special place in her heart.

After setting in Mountain Ash, South Wales she became the landlady of a small public house whereby our family became part of the community, the knowledge gained there allowed her to assist her husband when he was invited to run an RAF Social Club. The RAFA club was a small social club that had its own little community, some of which were similar service people that loved to share their stories. After a few years, the RAF Club closed and she moved on to work in her local shop and post office, where she was again very community orientated. She loved every minute of working and many colleagues became friends. The shop served the local school, and it was always a pleasure seeing the kids walk into the shop as they grew up. In more recent years she has also, ironically, done a lot of care work and at the time of her accident was supporting several ladies in their daily life.

In November 2022 Margaret took a tumble down her stairs at home and sustained spinal cord damage at level C6/7, medical term being an ‘incomplete tetraplegic’, meaning affecting both arms and both legs. It was a very tricky time for her and her family. Her stay in The University Hospital of Wales was critical and after nearly a year in hospital she left the Welsh SCI Rehab Centre at Llandough. She is now a full-time wheelchair user.

Margaret says, ‘I have been mastering my wheelchair skills for the past 18 months and had to come to terms with a new life, a different life, but I am determined to get the best out of it. I have bad days, both mentally and physically, but then there are the good days as well. Being an “incomplete” tetraplegic means that there is a very faint chance that I might regain a little mobility but with my family and team I have to support me, I prepare and exercise for the best, while learning to live and manage as I am.’

Watch Margaret’s story below:

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