Biography

I  would like you to know a little about me and why I started up MLC.

If you think about the past or worry about the future you are not living for today! I also know this is not always easy!

I like this quote… What makes god laugh? Watching us all making plans!

Pain is a frustration that cannot be seen…….

On 28th February 2005 my life suddenly changed direction, I fell down a flight of stairs..and I had been paralysed, injured, shocked, traumatised, operated on and nursed and wondered why such a near fatal accident had happened to me! Had I been such a bad person I asked myself, no i dont think so, I realise now I just needed a different direction and it had to be severe enough to make me change it!

I had broken my neck and had fracture dislocation at C6/7 level, six vertebras down from my brain stem, which caused neurological derangement I received halo traction and reduction of facet joint dislocation and anterior discectomy bone grafting and spinal fusion of C6/7 with titanium and a near miss of severing my spinal cord by half a millimetre! the Xrays now scare me! I was told by the Doctors Icould be in a wheelchair indefinitely. Finding the strength from a higher power I battled to walk unaided but was left with weakness in all my joints, disability in my hand and constant nerve pain with sensitivity down my right side. The road is long and this has changed my outlook on life. Live life for today! We are not invincible! but as people tell me, I really am a bionic woman! and it has taught me to be patient which before my accident I was very much like a runaway train!

During my early recovery I would sit for hours knitting, making music cds, watching gardening programmes and soaps! looking out of the window at the grey sky, it was so cold and dismal !! waiting for my younger son Richard to return home to cook the dinner, clean the apartment, then massage my arms as this eased the pain (he then decided he could not become a ´carer´) but he was always there to help! Now i knew how it felt to have such a disability. I was in a very old woman´s frustrated body with a healthy brain that just wouldnt connect together.

My healing had begun. Eight months after my accident I was able to go on a yoga retreat in Mainland Spain with the help of friends. This was very tiring but I found the strength to go through with it and was determined to gain the strength in my body that I had before the accident. I enjoyed the heat and beaches of Spain so much I decided to buy a caravan near Marbella where I could visit to aid my recovery, travelling back and forth from Jersey. I made lots of new friends and found many yoga centres and alternative therapists. Getting a little stronger, I then visited Mallorca a couple of times, again to find yoga centres and therapists. Having been used to living on an Island, much smaller, Mallorca was an easy attraction.

My eldest son Andre finished University and returned home to stay with me whilst my younger son then went off to University (what a relief he must have thought!) This is when MLC came alive! I asked Andre to start a website for me so when i came back to Mallorca I could meet likeminded people and make new friends.. so we called it Mallorca Ladies Club. I had no idea where this would go but we both had time on our hands to work hard on the project and we had our first lunch in March of 2007. It has been slowly growing ever since. This year it is becoming more well known and we are having some amazing ladies join us, not only English but German, Austrian, Swedish, South African, Australian and Spanish.

In September 2006 I qualified as a certified spinning instructor with Johnny G and Mad Dogg Athletics and thanks to my teacher Mark Tickner, who gave me the confidence and strength to give it a go!! and to my own amazement! This having no impact on my whole body weight this gives me a great cardiovascular workout, whilst teaching others to keep fit. I then went on to qualify on the Swiss Ball, as a C.O.R.E. Instructor, Level 1 which helps to strengthen my core muscles, which is always ongoing!!

Before my accident, I was in the top ladies rowing team in Jersey which was called ´Maid Tuin´. We were winning lots of races in Jersey and France getting up at 6am to train out on the sea. I also had a passion for long distance running, entering in the London Marathon for my 40th birthday! 45 mile charity walks..i was always working out in some way or another and having such a strong back is probably what helped cushion my spinal injury.

I have such love and gratitude for the help of my two sons Andre and Richard and the Family Nursing and Care Services who without them my life would have been unmanageable. I also have to thank Dr Kumar who operated on me and close friends Rachel and Magi who made me laugh when i wanted to cry! and there are many others for whom i am so grateful.

Thank you to everyone who helped me survive this horrendous life changing accident and also everyone who is still helping me..

Pain is a frustration that cannot be seen but i will not use a walking stick until absolutely necessary!

I feel so very lucky to be alive and walking..everything else is a bonus!  and now i have found so many great people ….! you give me so much inspiration to keep going!! thank you so much!!! and now Mallorca Business Club is born… again with the help of great people! I do wonder why me! but i guess thats why i was saved.. im here to help! xxx
Love and Gratitude
Sandra x