“After my injury, I didn’t think I could have children, now I have my baby boy. It shows that no matter what life throws at you, life doesn’t have to change.”

From a young age, Kirsty had dreamed of getting married and having children. She was with her fiancé, Ben, in their local town centre, having just been to the bank to put money into their wedding fund, when she was struck by falling concrete from a shop front and sustained a devastating spinal cord injury.

Accident and hospital

Waking up at King’s College Hospital, Ben told Kirsty she had sustained a spinal cord injury and would be paralysed from the waist down. She was transferred to Stoke Mandeville National Spinal Injuries Centre for treatment. It took Kirsty several days to realise what had happened to her and come to terms with it.

Her first thoughts were whether Ben would still want to marry her. When he reassured her that they were “in this together”, she realised that nothing had changed other than the use of her legs. “I’m still the same person, I just sit down now,” she says.

Becoming independent

Once Kirsty returned home, she wanted to become as independent as possible. This motivated her to increase her quality of life and do as much as she could for herself.

Following her rehabilitation, Kirsty is able to lead an independent life. She drives, undertakes her therapy and exercises, and is focused on the future.

Compensation

Kirsty’s claim was settled within two years of her accident. The settlement has enabled her to have a house built that meets her specific needs. She also received interim payments before the case settled that helped cover the cost of specialist equipment as well as a rehabilitation programme, including therapy.

Kirsty’s life beyond her injury

Kirsty and Ben were married two years after her accident. Thirteen months later, they welcomed their first child into the world.

“After my injury, I didn’t think I could have children,” says Kirsty.

“Now I have my baby boy, it shows that no matter what life throws at you, life doesn’t have to change.”

We have teamed up with other clients who have catastrophic injuries to also tell their stories. Please visit the Life Beyond Injury webpage to see their films.

We hope that by sharing these stories, newly injured people can see that with the right support they too can overcome adversity to lead full and active lives.

Please feel free to share our films. You can join in the conversation and share your stories of overcoming adversity to lead a fulfilling life beyond injury:

On Twitter, using the hashtag #lifebeyondinjury.

Or on Facebook, using the same #lifebeyondinjury hashtag.

Our specialist injury lawyers deal with a range of catastrophic injury claims. These include brain and spinal cord injuries as well as the loss of limbs resulting in the need for specialist prosthetics. You can find further information regarding our expertise, experience and team on our Personal Injury pages.

Our lawyers only handle a small number of cases at any one time. They work closely with their clients in order to understand the complex issues involved and the impact of the injuries.

If you, like Kirsty, have a catastrophic injury and need assistance or advice, please contact us or request a call back from one of our lawyers by submitting this form.

Media contact: Lydia Buckingham, Senior Marketing Executive, +44 (0) 20 7822 8134, lbuckingham@stewartslaw.com