A new chapter: Abbie's story (Forward - Summer 2025)

When Abbie Webb, 32, from Gloucester, had a spinal stroke at home alone, she managed to use her nose to work her phone and call her brother for help. Here, Abbie shares how she’s started a new chapter in her life following her C4 injury …

Can you talk us through your spinal stroke?

It was 2019 and I was home alone when I started getting pains in my chest. I went upstairs to lie down but when my hands started balling into fists, I knew something was wrong. My hands weren’t working but I managed to call my brother using my nose and he raised the alarm. A lot of consultants and physios were quite dubious about what mobility I’d be able to get back because of the level of my injury (C4). My dad helped me a lot with my physio and I managed to get movement back in both of my arms so I’m able to use them functionally now which is amazing. Gaining that bit of independence was incredible.

Did you get any specialist rehabilitation?

I went to Salisbury but it was around the time when COVID first hit so physical rehab became very limited because of that, and then obviously lockdown happened. I’ve been part of that cohort of people who’ve gained new injuries who have had to go through COVID at the same time, so it was very good in terms of education and learning about skin care, bowel care and bladder care, but in terms of physical rehab, I think I made-up quite a lot myself. I think resources were just very stretched at that time

When did you come home?

After around three years in hospital settings I came home at the beginning of April 2023, but it took me a good nine to 12 months to adapt to being at home. It wasn’t until 2024 that I gained my confidence back, and in the summer of that year, I was pretty much out every single day doing something. I’d been holding myself back and I think that was because I was worried about how people would respond to me if I saw somebody who knew me pre-injury, but I’ve got past that mental block now. It’s difficult but when you can get over that hurdle, it’s quite liberating.

I now live with my mum and dad and brother, and I’ve got my care team here too – we converted some of the garage so that they’ve got their own room.

What work did you do before your spinal stroke?

I was a full-time primary school teacher, but I was also covering SEND (Special Educational Needs) maternity – SEND has always been something that I’ve been really interested in so I was looking to do the SENDCo qualification previously. I think now having gone through my injury, I can connect with those children and parents on a different level. I understand the healthcare struggles with it as well as the academic side of it.

And now you’ve gone back to work?

Yes. I’ve been back on and off since October 2023. I’m doing interventions with SEND children so it’s a very different job to the teaching. I work with year two up to year six, but moving around the school, I see children of all year groups and it’s quite lovely. A child the other day said, ‘oh, I like your car’, referring to the wheelchair. It’s really quite sweet. It’s so refreshing how if the children have a question about the wheelchair or what’s happened to me, they’ll ask it. There are no taboos.

What do you like to do outside of work?

I’m doing a lot more things now than perhaps I would have done pre-injury, which sounds quite ironic really. I’ve been gliding, that was amazing. I’ve been to a couple of festivals. I really enjoy just getting out and going for a walk, so I go to the Forest of Dean quite a lot. I’m on the waiting list to swim with sharks. And we’ve been talking about doing a skydive as well. Things like that would have absolutely petrified me pre-injury, but now I’m just like, what’s the worst that can happen? It’s almost a philosophy that I have now that maybe the book I thought I was going to be writing is closed, but I’ve started a new one and I’m a few chapters in and it’s working.

How did you come across SIA?

I was in Salisbury, where SIA’s community outreach team were coming in every so often just to connect with patients who were at the hospital at the time. From there I’ve connected with so many different members of SIA, from Damien coming to the neurological centre to give specialist nurse advice to Mandy from the advocacy team and Stephen Brookes from SIA’’s counselling service.

What difference do you think that’s made to you?

It’s been massive. I’d been living with a pressure sore for nine -12 months and within a week of taking advice from Karen at SIA it was gone. And having a counsellor with lived experience of SCI was amazing. They also put me in touch with their trusted care partners and I ended up working closely with SIA’s trusted partner Premium Care Solutions (PCS) who specialise in helping people with complex health needs. They provided a bespoke care package and gave me so much support.
Connecting with people who have specialist knowledge within spinal cord injury has had a huge impact on my life.

For anybody really who’s at the beginning of their journey and feeling like there isn’t light at the end of the tunnel, it does come. It’s scary at first and mentally very exhausting trying to come to terms with your whole life changing within seconds, but there is light. Start the new book.

This article was featured in the Summer 2025 issue of FORWARD magazine

Abbie’s story was featured as part of the 2025 Spinal Cord Injury Awareness Day: