My name is Pam, I’m 58 and I was a Senior Learning Mentor at an inner-city school in Birmingham for 20 years, before setting up my own business selling silicones and resins.
I was in a car crash in January 2020. I went to Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Birmingham to have an operation on my lower spine, then I came to the Robert Jones and Agnes Hunt Orthopaedic Hospital for my rehabilitation (RJAH). After being at the RJAH for around three weeks the Covid-19 pandemic began, and everyone was moved out of the hospital. In 2024, I came back to the RJAH for more rehab.
My injury has affected me significantly. I’m in a wheelchair as I can’t walk more than a few paces, so it’s had a big impact on my day-to-day life.
The first weeks I spent in hospital were enlightening. The staff are lovely, they can’t do enough to help you and they’re very informed on how to make the situation you’re living in better.
When I was first in hospital, I began using Horatio’s Garden as soon as I could because it was fairly new then, and there was a real buzz about it. Everyone said ‘you must go and see our gardens!’, and when I went out here it was just phenomenal, absolutely phenomenal. Coming back four years later, seeing all the beautiful bushes and the lavender, it’s just wonderful. It’s a privilege to be in a hospital like this with a garden like this.
I like using Horatio’s Garden to meet my friends. There are sometimes talks in the garden room – there was one recently on cushions and wheelchairs. There are craft sessions during the week, which I go to around my physio appointments, but there’s just lots and lots going on.
The garden helps you build your confidence. It helps to sit down with like-minded people and share your experiences, like how you got your injury. It also helps your confidence just to leave your hospital room, come into a beautiful garden and mix with people.
There are lots of memories of the garden that will stay with me for a long time. When I was first here, Dr Osman, one of the consultants, dressed up as Elvis Presley and sang ‘Is This the Way to Amarillo?’ down one of the pathways! That will stay with me forever.
I’m going to continue with my physiotherapy, continuing to improve and trying to make myself stronger. You have to live the best life you can with the injuries that you have.
To anyone else who’s experienced a spinal injury, I would say not to bottle up your emotions. If you need to talk to somebody then please, please talk to somebody – there’s always someone you can talk to. When you leave hospital you’re back into the big wide world, and it isn’t always plain sailing. If you need to talk, then let your emotions out and talk.
The RJAH is a lovely hospital, and the garden is fabulous. If you come here, you’re very, very privileged – it’s more like a home from home.
