A woman who was told she’d never walk again after suffering a spinal-cord injury has posted an astonishing video of herself dancing.
Ruth Earley, 36, woke up paralyzed in April 2018 and was diagnosed with Acute Cauda Equina where the bundle of nerves below the end of the spine is damaged.
She was given little hope of recovery but her determination to walk again resulted in her making incredible progress.
Now, a year later, she can jive and twirl in style with her physiotherapist Sue Paddison.
Ruth, from Co Leitrim, says she’s had “amazing” help along the way and she’s planning to scale the 02 arena in London in July.
She told the Irish Sunday Mirror: “Basically I woke up one morning with numb legs. Over the space of a few hours I was paralyzed.
“I had emergency surgery and spent most of last year in hospital and rehab. After the operation they told me I’d probably never walk again.
“I decided to treat it as my job for the last year to get back on my feet. I wasn’t able to achieve this for eight hours, but I did four or five hours each day focusing on it.
“I’m still working on it. I’ve really gotten to enjoy my exercises and the physiotherapists have all been superstars.”
Ruth, who works in film and TV casting, divides her time between London and her native Leitrim village but she has been based in London for her recovery.
Over the past 12 months her parents Beth and Joe, sister Kathy, brother Breifne and nephews Matthew and Charlie have been regular visitors buoying her spirits.
She revealed: “When I got out of hospital I wasn’t able to go back to the house I’d lived in. It’s an old Victorian house with lots of stairs so I had to get a new flat.
“It was a bit of a dump to start but they all came over to help me paint it and do it up.”
Ruth has returned to work but can only manage a few hours a week due to her condition which still causes extreme fatigue and pain due to nerve damage.
Last year she attended the premiere of the Oscar-winning Queen biopic Bohemian Rhapsody which she’d been working on prior to her injury.
She said: “I refused to go in the back door so climbed the steps instead.”
Ruth has inspired many others with her humour and her positive attitude and shared her experiences through her Rambling Ruth blog and Facebook page.
She revealed: “Myself and one of the girls I met in rehab are going to climb the 02 in July and have a glass of prosecco at the top.”
