Rugby mum who ended up paralysed after falling off horse vows to ride again
A woman from Warwickshire who was left paralysed from the shoulders down after falling off her horse is battling to regain her old life after being left with only a 'flicker' of movement in her hands and toes. Sam Barrows, 59, from Rugby, went riding with her daughter on Easter Sunday last year when she was thrown off the saddle head-first.
Sam, who is a seasoned rider, rode her two horses almost daily when she was thrown off due to the momentum, sustaining acute fractures to vertebrae in her neck and damaging her spinal cord. The injuries left to paralysis and Sam remembers telling her daughter Raegan that she 'can't feel anything' when airlifted to the hospital.
Now, Sam is regaining some movement in her body through specialist physiotherapy and rehabilitation, but will take several years, and she is having to pay for the sessions herself. Raegan has launched a GoFundMe to help cover 12 months of specialist private physiotherapy which has received more than £9,000 in donations.
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Sam told PA Real Life: "I’m called a tetraplegic now because the injury has affected all four limbs. You are trapped and you’re thinking, well, I’m still here, I’m still me, but the rest of it isn’t happening. The goal is not to be in a wheelchair all the time, and even if I can only walk a limited amount, that would be freedom. I want to keep improving so that I can feed myself, get myself a drink, and brush my own hair."
Sam enjoyed riding as a young girl and rediscovered her passion for horses when Raegan, now 31, was born. She has two horses and a Shetland pony and used to ride every few days, especially during the summer months. On Easter Sunday in 2023, Sam and Raegan went for a morning ride in the paddock by her house.
Sam said: "It was a nice morning, actually. Raegan was outside with her horse, so I thought I’d hop on and have a little tootle around. Everything was going really well, and I didn’t see anything that would spook the horse. But when Sam broke into a canter, her horse’s demeanour suddenly changed.
"She put in a buck, then a bronc, and then slammed the breaks on. I just had a feeling, I’m not going to land well."
Sam was airlifted to the University Hospital Coventry & Warwickshire and admitted to the intensive care unit where doctors discovered she had damaged her spine and broken several bones in her neck. She was left paralysed from the shoulders down and spent the next 11 weeks immobilised in a neck brace before being transferred to the NHS Midland Centre for Spinal Injuries for specialist treatment.
Fortunately, her injury is classed as “incomplete”, which means that with the right support, Sam will be able to regain some of her movement over time. When she left the hospital, the only movement Sam was capable of making was “a little flicker” in her left fingers and toes.
"For someone who worked, went shopping, did the horses, loved driving around and doing things, like going out for brunch, always a favourite or walking the dogs, to then being hand fed and having someone brush your teeth, you’re trapped."
At the end of November 2023, Sam returned home after being discharged from the rehabilitation centre. While at the centre, she had access to the gym and specialist physiotherapy on the NHS, she now has to pay for it herself.
"There are many people out there who are just lying in their homes with limited access to care because it’s a postcode lottery and the care you get depends on where you are in the country. Luckily I do have access to a physio who is not too far away, they’re brilliant, and there’s a gym near me as well.
“The cost of living is high for everyone right now, with food and heating, let alone then trying to fork out £140 for hydrotherapy and 70 odd pounds for a physio session."
When asked whether Sam would consider getting back on a horse she said: “Initially, I thought no. But now I would like to get on again, not to do an awful lot, but just to put that demon to rest really. It has been something I have really loved and it would be nice."
To donate funds toward Sam's recovery, visit the GoFundMe page.
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