Lincoln man on journey to half marathon a year after fall left him paralysed

A man and his partner will be running the Lincoln half marathon just one year after an accident left him paralysed down one side of his body – and he has thanked the doctors who helped him back on his feet.

Brett Seagrave and his partner Danielle Parkes, originally from Cardiff, moved to Lincoln during COVID-19 lockdown and have been here ever since, but their lives were turned upside down shortly after arriving.

In August 2021, Brett had an accident which saw him crush his spinal cord. It left him paralysed down the left side of his body, unable to walk or even hold things in his hand.

Months later, in November of that year, he had spinal surgery at Queens Medical Centre in Nottingham, with the surgeons telling him that if it was unsuccessful he would face the likelihood of being wheelchair-bound.

Brett has had to teach himself how to walk and run again. | Photo: Danielle Parkes

The surgery was a success, and became the first step in a resilient recovery from Brett, as he went from not being able to walk to training for a half marathon.

His incident did, however, leave him with a condition called Cervical Myelopathy, which comes from compression of the spinal cord into the neck area.

Doctors have told him it could take up to two years for his nerves to fully recover from the fall, and he is literally having to teach himself how to run again as he trains for September’s Lincoln half marathon with Danielle.

A fundraiser has been set up to generate money for spinal condition charity Myelopathy.org, and at the time of reporting it stands at £120 of a £500 target. You can donate by visiting the JustGiving page here.

Brett has been training hard with the help of his partner Danielle. | Photo: Danielle Parkes

Brett told The Lincolnite: “Danielle and I have decided to run the Lincoln half marathon and raise awareness for cervical myelopathy and the wonderful spinal team at QMC.

“I have gone from not being able to walk to recently running for 10 minutes. The journey is a long one, but I will get there.”

Danielle, who organised the fundraiser, said: “He is still not fixed, far from it. They say it can take up to two years for nerves to recover, but Brett is determined to fight hard to improve his chances.

“He walks mostly normally now (unless he is really tired) and still has pain, but he has set a goal of running the half marathon in September – not a small feat!”