Woman receives generous donation from Long Bennington company after she was left paraplegic due to blood clot
A woman who was paralysed after suffering a blood clot on her spine has received a generous donation from a local company to help her adapt her new home.
Long Bennington company Smart Fleet Solutions has made a charity donation of £500 to support 27-year-old Olivia Langley, who has been left paraplegic as a result of a spinal cord injury due to a blood clot.
Nominated by client services intelligence manager Ruth Pask at the company’s technical centre in Long Bennington, Olivia (known as Liv) is fund-raising for rehabilitation and mobility equipment following her release from hospital.
Ruth said: “I wanted to support Liv as she is such an active and outgoing character and her world was turned upside down within a handful of hours. It was so unfortunate and unforeseen and it’s really made me re-evaluate how we take things for granted.
“The positivity she has shown throughout has been amazing and she’s gone through such trauma with a smile on her face, and such gratitude for everyone she has met along her journey.”
Liv used to be a gym fanatic and would go up to five times a week. She also enjoyed horse riding and other outdoor activities.
Liv said: “On August 22, I woke at 3am with back pains, which quickly worsened, and soon after this, pins and needles started. Within three hours I was on the way to Kings Mill Hospital and had lost all of the feeling in my legs.
“It turned out that this had been caused by a spontaneous bleed, which formed a hematoma (blood clot) on my spine, which had crushed my spinal cord. After a four-hour surgery the hematoma had been removed and the outcome was positive.
“However, over the coming weeks my legs showed little recovery and after 16 weeks in hospital I have now been discharged and still have little to no strength in my legs.”
Liv needs a lightweight wheelchair and adaptations to her home.
To Ruth and her colleagues, Liv said: “There is little provided by the NHS in terms of physiotherapy and other forms of rehabilitation, so the money you have donated will be a great help towards all of these things.
“Thank you again for your support.”
Liv and her boyfriend, Tom Wharmby, had just bought a new house in Newark when she suffered the clot. Liv is also a bookkeeper and was preparing to sit accountancy exams.
Theo Kortland, managing director of Smart Fleet Solutions, said: “We are delighted to be able to support the local good causes which are dear to the hearts of our employees, as well as raising funds for DEBRA, our charity of the year. Our aim was to raise £10,000 for the skin charity this year and we’ve met this target with the help of our suppliers, training partners and employees.
“This is our second round of charity donations for our local neighbourhoods this year and we have been overwhelmed by the positive reaction to this initiative.
“As we continue to grow our workforce, we are looking forward to being able to reach out to our wider community to offer support throughout the next decade.”