WHAT A FEELING!
Accident left Courtney in a wheelchair – but now she can’t wait to start cheerleading again
HER world fell apart when cheerleader Courtney Laing was confined to a wheelchair after a trampoline accident.
Locked in a body that wouldn’t work, the tormented 15-year-old couldn’t see a future ahead.
An MRI scan revealed a probable awkward fall in December 2016 triggered a brain condition called Chiari malformation – a condition in which brain tissue pushes into the spinal canal, causing acute pain and longterm neurological problems.
But she was left wheelchair-bound and living in the family’s dining room, unable to get upstairs, after she was left with severe weakness following brain surgery on October 5, 2017. Courtney was left with no feeling in her feet, along with bodily weakness, and eventually her condition became so acute that she was unable to bear her own weight, despite undergoing months of physiotherapy.
But after teaming up with specialist body worker Adam Foster, who put her through her paces with his own fitness rehabilitation programme, she has ditched her wheelchair and is literally jumping for joy as she looks forward to getting back to doing what she does best as a cheerleader.
Courtney, of Byker, Newcastle, said: “After my surgery the weakness started and I got so bad I couldn’t pick my feet up. I couldn’t walk and couldn’t stand on my own and I had to use a wheelchair.”
Medics said they believed Courtney’s condition was not due to the surgery but she couldn’t walk because of “anxiety” and put her on a physio rehabilitation programme, said her mum, Donna Hope.
But more than eight months later Donna said her daughter was only making minor improvements and her mobility was getting worse.
However, after eight weeks under Adam’s wing, Courtney is back walking unaided.
Now she is back enjoying life with her friends at Benfield High School in Newcastle. And she’s getting better day by day after exercising and lifting 55kg weights and flipping 120kg tyres as part of Adam’s specially designed rehabilitation training.
Courtney, who is a member of the chearleading team with Smiths Academy Performing Arts School of Dance, based in Benton, added: “Adam’s been fantastic and I’m so grateful to him for his help. I couldn’t have done it without him. I can’t wait to get back to my cheerleading.”
Donna, 32, who has three other children, said: “What Adam’s done is nothing short of miraculous. He seemed to know what to do the moment he saw Courtney. For her to get back on her feet is amazing.
“We were so worried but we can now really look forward to happier times and Courtney getting back to her cheerleading.” Adam, set up his business, called The Fibro Guy, at The Town Mission in Lower Rudyerd Street, North Shields, North Tyneside. The 30-yearold, who works with people with fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue syndrome/ME, hypermobility and associated syndromes relating to chronic pain and fatigue, was involved in an explo-
What Adam’s done is nothing short of miraculous. He seemed to know what to do the moment he saw Courtney Donna Hope
sion incident when serving with the Army in Afghanistan in 2009.
Back on civvy street, GPs deemed he had spinal scar tissue, causing him chronic pain.
After research, he decided to set up his own training programme to help relieve his agony.
Adam is now helping others to reduce their discomfort through his movement-based programme in conjunction with current pain science and Courtney has done wonders under Adam’s guidance.
Adam said: “Courtney is a 15-year-old girl who suffered with Chiari malformation. This is where the brain drops slightly and presses into the spinal canal, causing all sorts of neurological problems.
“In 2017 she had decompression surgery to correct this.
“However, the surgery was not without problems and she soon lost feeling in her feet, weakness took over and she ended up in a wheelchair unable to bear her own weight.
“She has for the last year lived in the family’s dining room as she couldn’t get up the stairs.”
Adam added: “After eight months with the NHS physio she was still unable to lift her legs properly. This is the point at which I first met Courtney. Now, six weeks later she is walking unaided and flipping 120kg tyres in the studio.
“She has also moved back into her own bedroom for the first time in a year and is managing school again as she prepares for her GCSEs.
“Courtney was part of my Christmas volunteer recovery programme, which is something I intend to keep doing every year. So, every year, I will work with a volunteer and make a little documentary chronicling their recovery.
“I’m so proud of her. We still have a lot to do but she is well on the road to recovery.”
Adam’s website is www. thefibroguy.com.