In April 2021, Muriel’s daughter, Emma, fell from a height and fractured her spine, injuring her spinal cord.
This past weekend, Muriel generously decided to support the charity by running the Fleet 10k, a challenge she attempted for the very first time “as a way to thank Horatio’s Garden for the sanctuary it gave us.”
Brilliantly, she successfully completed the race and has so far raised almost £500, far surpassing her target of £250 which is truly wonderful to see!
To donate to Muriel’s JustGiving page, please click here
After spending six weeks in emergency hospital care, Emma was transferred to the National Spinal Injuries Centre at Stoke Mandeville Hospital. For over three months, Emma received “the most amazing care” from NHS staff, as Muriel writes on her JustGiving page, whilst she also spent much of her time Horatio’s Garden.
Whilst she faced tough days throughout her time in the centre, Emma was constantly strong and overcame a great deal both mentally and physically in her commitment to her rehabilitation. Following each of her sessions with the Physiotherapists and Occupational Therapy teams, she often enjoyed coming out to spend time in the garden, whilst she also enthusiastically engaged with artist in residence Miranda Creswell, painting her own pieces and chatting with her fellow patients.
Due to Coronavirus and Emma’s busy rehabilitation schedule, Muriel and the rest of Emma’s family were only allowed to visit her in hospital on weekends. Together, Muriel, Emma and her family would spend these weekends in Horatio’s Garden, a place where they could escape the hospital environment and simply be in a garden.
Being a keen gardener herself, Muriel really appreciated being able simply sit in Horatio’s Garden, whilst it also provided a lovely place for the family’s precious visits. They passed the time playing board games, meeting with other patients and their loved ones, chatting to our wonderful volunteers (whilst savouring their delicious homemade cakes!), all whilst quietly catching up and relishing the chance to be in each other’s warm, familiar company.
Having never done anything like this before, Muriel was determined to complete her run, especially as it’s in aid of something so personal and close to her heart.
Whilst she found the 10k tough, Muriel shared that Emma was her motivation throughout. Every time she felt like giving up, Muriel instead decided to dig deep, kept going and was continually inspired by the thought of her daughter’s impressive strength and determination following her life-changing injury.
There’s still time to show your support, so please give whatever you can to help Muriel, Emma and countless others like them spending time in Horatio’s Garden Stoke Mandeville.
To donate to Muriel’s JustGiving page, please click here
We are so pleased to hear everything went well for Muriel and that she’s raised such a fantastic fundraising total. Everyone at the charity, including the staff and volunteer team at Stoke Mandeville, wish her, Emma and their family all the very best for the future.
