A WOMAN who fractured her spine last August and has gone on to make a remarkable recovery will attempt to defy all the odds by doing a charity walk up her beloved Malvern Hills on the first anniversary of her tragic accident.
After feeling short of breath last July, Marilyn Bushnell was told she had pulmonary fibrosis and would be on oxygen for the rest of her life.
A devastated Marilyn’s luck took a further turn for the worse just weeks later when she fell over her oxygen tube and broke her back.
The 72-year-old has loved walking up the Malvern Hills since childhood, and now after a long road to recovery, she will be braving the journey to the hills peak to raise money for spinal cord injury charity Aspire.
Marilyn said: “Ever since my accident I have been trying to get some sort of relief from the awful pain I felt.
“I used to live near the Malvern Hills but because of my disability I’m now in a ground-floor house and can’t even see them- and I miss them so much.
“I was suicidal in January, I just had no purpose in life.
“You don’t know what you’ve got until it’s gone, and that’s why I’m so determined to do this for charity.”
After 11 months of excruciating pain, a few weeks ago Marilyn had an injection at the Royal Orthopaedic Hospital.
Within days, she found 95 per cent of her pain had gone.
She said she now feels on top of the world and is determined to climb up the hills ‘even if she has to crawl.’
She will set off at 10am on Thursday, August 3 along with around 12 other people, including her daughter and church friends.
“I’ve tried to do a lot more walking and I can now travel for around two hours on flat surfaces, however, walking up a hill will be much more difficult.
“I know I will get up there, I can’t wait to finally get up to the beacon and experience the views once more.”
Visit www.justgiving.com/page/marilyn-bushnell-1689697053003/ to donate to Marilyn.
