The Commonwealth Games athlete is keen to stay competitive and active despite suffering a spinal injury earlier this year
Henrietta Paxton, a former 4.35m pole vaulter who competed for Scotland at the 2010 and 2014 Commonwealth Games, is aiming to make her mark in wheelchair basketball and rugby after being paralyzed from the waist down following a spinal injury suffered in the gym.
In May of this year, the 41-year-old slipped while doing a squat, causing a 120kg barbell to crush her spine. The mother-of-two tried to correct her posture but overcompensated, bumping forward and crushing under the weight.
He was rushed to Southampton General Hospital where doctors broke the news that he had broken part of his spine and damaged his spinal cord, leaving him paralyzed from the waist down.
Undeterred, however, she plans to continue with para sports and has already won the para badminton competition at the Inter-Spinal Unit Games.
“My career never really went the way I dreamed it would go.” he said The Times. “But what I’m most proud of is just my tenacity, my ability to keep going and come back.
Henrietta Paxton (Mark Shearman)
“Initially the prognosis for the extent of the damage to my spinal cord was not good. They’re very keen to make sure you understand that, which I had a hard time dealing with just because that’s never been my mindset.
“It’s not that I don’t accept that this is serious, but I’ve always been open to trying to get the best result. This was shown by previous injuries where again I was told you don’t come back from this and I did.
“I’m of the mindset that if you don’t think there’s a way forward, there won’t be because you’re not going to pursue things and you’re not going to keep trying.”
Paxton started life as a combined event athlete and long jumper. She has jumped over six metres, but she has had more success in the pole vault, where she is 11th in the UK women’s all-time pole vault rankings.
After the accident, she is preparing to return to the classroom, having worked as a PE teacher in recent years. Adjusting to home life with her children, aged five and three, with husband Shane Kelly, a former UK athletics physio, also brings its challenges.
With that in mind, a JustGiving page has been set up to raise the £230,000 needed to make every part of her home accessible.
“When your whole identity is based on being active, fit and healthy, it’s really hard to find yourself in a situation where, having never relied on anyone before, I now have to accept that in some situations I have to ask for help,” she says. is he
To support Henrietta Paxton’s fundraising, see justgiving.com/crowdfunding/helphen
While you’re here, check out our latest podcast here…
» Subscribe to AW Magazine herecheck out our new podcast! here or subscribe to our digital archive of back issues from 1945 to the present day here
The post Pole vaulter Henrietta Paxton has been targeted by para-sports after she was paralyzed in a gym accident. appeared first AW:.
