Here are mine.
My friend Sally – to whom Paralysed is dedicated – spent
many years severely disabled as the result of an illness. The way she
battled on was remarkable. She never lost her appreciation of life – she
wrote some brilliant poems and some of these were published. To read
two of them, click HERE. Sally died some years ago, and in every way
she’s been an inspiration to me.
But that’s not all. Just under three years ago my younger daughter’s
close friend, Robert, was diagnosed with cancer. He was only 17. Like
Sally, he refused to be beaten by circumstance. Also his friends rallied
round – all of them determined not to be cheated of their teenage
years by this illness and its effects. Robert managed to pass his driving
test, get good A2 grades, go to university and even celebrate his 18th
birthday in the traditional way you should celebrate an 18th! He – and
his friends – were an inspiration. Robert died last December,
but in my mind he beat that illness because he never gave in.
I knew that by writing about spinal cord injury I’d also be
writing about Sally, and Robert, about Robert’s friends – but
also about all those equally brave people who are coping with paralysis.
In Paralysed I wanted to show how this devastating condition affects
people, but in particular how it might affect teenagers and their friends.
From the beginning Simon, Danny and Emma were fully formed as characters.
And I started writing.
And then I stopped. I realised that for all my good intentions, I
didn’t know enough about spinal cord injury. I couldn’t
find any doctors who could help me, and I didn’t actually know
any SCIs. One Friday morning the writing ground to a complete halt.
I e-mailed a couple of organisations who might be able to help, then
shut down my computer and went out. I had a meeting in Liverpool that
afternoon.
Once on the train, I got out my mobile to have a moan to my elder
daughter. I ended by telling her that I was so fed up that I’d
bought myself a rather large bar of chocolate and was going to eat
the whole lot. I disconnected, but before I could unwrap the chocolate,
a young woman sitting across the aisle leant over and addressed me:
“I couldn’t help overhearing you,” she said. “I
work for the Spinal Injury Association. Can I help?”
That was Olwen – and I promise you, this meeting happened exactly
as I’ve told it. Olwen and I talked spinal cord injury all the
way to Liverpool, and through her I met Sarah, an SCI youth worker,
John and Tom and found out everything I needed to know. I am so grateful
to all of these people – you made this novel possible, and it’s
as much your work as mine.
Sarah works for the Spinal Injury Association, and Olwen now fund-raises
for Back-Up, a charity which among other things organises outdoor activities
for SCIs. If you want to fund-raise, these two charities are more than
worthy recipients!
