In 2002 I had a bike accident whilst racing a local Triathlon race. I fell off and broke my elbow. 1 week after this time I found out I was expecting my first child.

After being so active training for triathlon then breaking my elbow it was a hard blow that I could not do any of my training – it was far too painful. After my elbow recovered I was nearly 6 month pregnant and could not do as much as I used too.

In feb 2003 we had a really bad snow storm, you may remember it. I was still at work, working in a Bank in Middlesbrough Centre. We left work to travel home (I travelled with my manager) to Ingleby Barwick, we left Middlesbrough at 5.30pm and arrived home at 9.10pm. When I got up the next morning I was in agony, my back was so painful and I had shooting pains down my leg. This was when I first thought, ‘oh no my back hurts’. I struggled on and it eased eventually.

I gave birth to my son on 11th May 2003, my back was fine at this point. When Lewis was 5 weeks old I picked him up off the bed and that’s when my back completely gave up on me. I went to my local doctors who prescribed me strong painkillers.

From then my back kept on coming and going but there was always a dull ache that just would not go away. I got back on my bike 8 weeks later and managed for a short while. I started running again and as long as I didn’t go too mad I could cope.

In June 2006 whilst on holiday in Spain my back flared up again, this time it did not get any better. I walked as much as I could, tried to run, but the shooting pains afterwards were just too much. I visited my GP who referred me to the GP’s physio, after 6 weeks of physio it was decided that it was not helping.

I called my GP and said ‘I can’t go on like this’, he said ‘what would you like me to do?’ I said ‘can’t you refer me to the spinal clinic?’ which he did. After what felt like too many appointments I got there in the end. L5/S1 had completely worn away.

On January 28th 2008 I had my PLIF at The Woodlands Hospital, Mr Krishna operated on me.

After recovering from the anaesthetic I felt great. The very next day I was up on my feet walking up and down the stairs in the hospital with the physio, and that afternoon I went home.

My staples were taken out after 2 weeks. That was my sign that I would be able to start moving around again. I started walking, and within a couple of weeks I managed a good mile walk. 6 weeks after my operation I attempted a very short jog, I was desperate to lose some weight and get back to normal. Swimming was what I missed the most when my back was bad so I was thrilled when I was back swimming 8 weeks after my operation. Within 4 weeks I was up to 1500meters (60 lengths).

It has taken some time, (with other things happening in my life) but in July this year I did my first Triathlon in 4 years, and it felt great. I am now running 4 times a week, swimming 2-3 times a week and get out on my bike when the weather allows it.

I’ve also just done the Middlesbrough 10k, I was disappointed in my time but that’s just made me more determined to train harder and faster to beat my time. (I did it in 58mins)

Mr Krishna and his team have changed my life. My operation was a quality of life operation, and for me who likes to keep fit and push my body to its limits; I couldn’t cope with the lifestyle I was living with my bad back. For 2 years I was in constant pain, I put a lot of weight on which was very hard for me mentally and I was at a very low point.

Now I feel fantastic again and it’s all down to Mr Krishna. There is life after a PLIF.