Western Daily Press (Saturday)
Paralysed Nakita battles for a home she’s able to live in
ATEENAGE Paralympic hopeful paralysed in a surf school accident has been waiting seven years for a wheelchair-friendly house, her family say.
Nakita Wright, 14, was left paralysed following a freak incident on the Algarve in Portugal in 2015.
Doctors said they did not know if she would be able to walk again – and seven years on she is disabled from the waist down.
Despite this, mum Natasha Wright, 44, says her daughter has “taken everything in her stride” and Nakita is now a wheelchair basketball athlete.
But despite her success, the family say they are still fighting for adaptions to be made to make their house accessible. Natasha says she still has to carry Nakita as a result, which can be dangerous – and her daughter has sustained scoliosis due to her attempts to move herself.
The mum, a hairdresser from Trowbridge, Wiltshire, said: “She’s taken everything in her stride and not let her disability stop her one bit. She’s been playing wheelchair basketball for the last year.
“She had an ambition that she wanted to go to [the] Paris [Paralympics] to play – the final deadline to prepare for Paris was this month and she’s made it.
“She’s also an A* student – she’s not let anything faze her and she’s determined to prove it’s not going to stop her in any way.
“It’s just our situation at home which is causing frustrations – it’s been seven years and we’re still fighting for adaptions.”
Nakita sustained the injury which would lead to paralysis on October 26, 2015, age eight, during a surfing lesson with her dad.
She was practising lying flat on the board and jumping up when she suddenly experienced pain and found she was unable to stand.
After two months, she was diagnosed with surfer’s myelopathy – a condition mostly affecting young adults. Nakita is believed to be the youngest person in the world with the diagnosis.
Seven years later, the family say they are still fighting for adaptions after being evicted from the rented accommodation they were living in when Nakita came out of hospital.
Following the eviction, they moved into a Selwood Housing property after being told by their occupational therapist that it would be possible to adapt the house to meet Nakita’s requirements.
They moved into the new property on August 18, 2017.
“When we came out of the hospital I was in rented accommodation,” said Natasha.
“We were issued a section 21 [eviction notice] as we were adapting to Nakita’s new life in a chair.
“We started looking for properties, we wanted to stay in the local area for family support and Nakita was getting to an age where she was looking at secondary school – I wanted her to be as independent as possible.
“Selwood Housing took us on as a priority case and we went to see a property in the perfect location.
“We didn’t think it was adaptable but we received a call from the occupational therapist who said they had gone to the property and it could be adapted so we should go for it. When we moved in it was an absolute mess, it needed replastering and redecorating as the last owner was a smoker.
“Before we moved into the property and after we accepted it, they came in and replaced the bathroom and kitchen flooring.
“I believe there was asbestos in the glue which was holding the tiles down which is a safety risk and something they needed to do by law.
“When we first started looking there was also a vacant bungalow which would have been perfect and had been passed over to Selwood over 20 years ago for adults with learning disabilities.
“The whole time we were looking it remained vacant – it was frustrating to be looking for properties when you know there’s the perfect one just empty.”
Selwood Housing gave Natasha a voucher to complete some work after they moved in, she says, most of which went on repairing the floor as Nakita was having to shuffle around the house.
During Christmas 2017 they expected to receive grants to make the property wheelchair accessible but were told they wouldn’t be receiving the grants after all, Natasha claims.
At the beginning of 2018, they were then told they would have to go back on the housing list and over six months were offered three different properties by Selwood Housing – none of which met the family’s needs, Natasha says.
After informing the housing association they would not be moving into any of the other houses, Natasha alleges that Selwood refused to help any further.
In the meantime, Nakita had begun to use her upper body strength to ‘monkey bar’ up the stairs, putting strain on her shoul
She’s taken everything in her stride and not let her disability stop her one bit NATASHA WRIGHT
ders and posture, which led to her developing scoliosis.
“We were waiting on the grants officer to release the grants when they turned around and said they wouldn’t do the adaptions,” said Natasha.
“They said we should go back on the housing list but as we weren’t homeless, we weren’t a priority.
“Selwood had six months to relocate us but we had no communication until the end of the six months.
“They said there was a property with a lift that could be suitable but when we went to view it, it was a building site.
“We shouldn’t have been in there without hard hats.
“A couple of weeks later another property came up with a throughfloor lift and was already accessible as an elderly couple had lived there, but the housing officer said there wasn’t enough space for a turning circle so it wasn’t acceptable.
“The last property was a oneand-a-half-room bungalow in an area for elderly people and they said it was acceptable for me to sleep in the living room.
“Selwood said they didn’t owe us anything so me and Nakita carried on with me carrying her around.
“She’s a teenager and doesn’t want to be carried and she’s getting bigger so it’s dangerous for me to carry her.”
In 2020, Covid lockdowns left the family unable to progress their situation.
Their MP, Andrew Murrison, got involved to push for the house they were living in to receive the necessary adaptions, and in 2021 they finally received planning permissions.
But a year later and little progress has been made, with only a stairlift being recently installed.
“It’s just a joke really – we’re in a property which is big and falling apart and needs upgrading,” said Natasha.
A spokesperson for Selwood Housing said: “We deeply sympathise with the challenges Ms Wright and her family face following her daughter’s accident.
“We have made contact with Ms Wright to discuss her concerns and how to take this matter forward.
“Ms Wright moved into her home in 2017, after considerable discussions to determine the suitability of the property between Selwood Housing, Ms Wright and the family’s occupational therapist.
“This move was prioritised through our direct lets process, in recognition of the family’s circumstances and the fact that they had been threatened with being made homeless from a privately-rented property.
“The direct lets process meant that Ms Wright’s housing needs were prioritised, rather than going through the usual Homes 4 Wiltshire bidding process, which can take considerably longer.
“Later that year, Selwood Housing was advised that the property was no longer suitable and because a significant extension to the property was not financially possible, it was agreed that the only option was for Ms Wright to move home.
“We spoke with Ms Wright about finding alternative accommodation that would meet the needs of the family.
“This was again through the direct lets process, so that the limited number of potentially suitable homes available could be offered directly to Ms Wright.
“After other potentially suitable homes were ruled out, one remaining property was confirmed as suitable by the occupational therapist and this home was offered to Ms Wright.
“Ms Wright did not feel that property was suitable and refused the offer.
“Understandably, the family wished to stay in Trowbridge so that Ms Wright’s daughter would not have to change school and to stay close to their network of family and friends, which meant that properties outside of Trowbridge were not suitable.
“For this reason, we also offered advice on exploring properties with other housing associations through a Homes 4 Wiltshire application, so that as many homes as possible could be considered.
“Another property that Ms Wright was interested in was unfortunately not an option because it is designated as supported living for adults and there are restrictive covenants in place which prevent us from letting this property to Ms Wright.
“In the meantime, we asked for recent kitchen adaptations to be included as part of a grant for accessibility modifications at Ms Wright’s current home.
“This took place and the work is being planned.”
Cllr Phil Alford, cabinet member for housing at Wiltshire Council, said: “We understand how frustrating this is but unfortunately, where funding has been agreed, works have been subject to delays caused by shortages of materials and contractors.
“We are working closely with our contractors to ensure that works can be carried out as soon as possible and are communicating this to affected residents.”