Allison is married and has two children and two grandchildren.
She was a previously a nurse working in palliative care, until she had issues with her dropped foot and sciatica for three years. This resulted in cauda equina syndrome.
After her surgery, Allison was left with no bladder or bowel control and progressive weakness and legs and balance, with a lot of nerve pain and unable to return to work.
She did look into a claim and was unsuccessful due to being told by a specialist “There is no such thing as slow onset cauda equine”.
From this, Allison tried to get self-help, in which she could not find any relevant information, nor could she find any HCP’s who understood her issues.
Allison started a Facebook group called “Cauda equina spinal cord injury’, where she supports others going through the same as she did. Allison offers support and advice, which she has learnt over the years. The group is in partnership with Spinal injuries Association, where they work side-by-side.
Allison is also a guest speaker for Coloplast, where she does talks on how this has affected her bladder and bowel. Allison gives patient talks to hospitals around the U.K. helping healthcare professionals learn what it’s truly like living with this condition.
They have a couple of trusted partners who enable them to do this.