I’ll keep fighting, says Olivia Langley, of Newark, who was left a paraplegic after waking up with a life-changing spinal injury

A courageous woman who was left a paraplegic after waking up with pains in the night says she is fighting back for her loved ones.

On August 21, Olivia Langley, 26, went to bed like any other night ­— but woke with a life-changing spinal injury.

“It all happened so fast. I woke up at 3am with a bit of pain in my back and by 4.30am I was starting to lose all sensation in my legs,” said Olivia, of Newark.

“It was like a feeling of pins and needles and the rarity of it was nothing caused it ­— it just happened.”

An ambulance was called and within an hour she was on her way to the Queen’s Medical Centre, Nottingham, where she had emergency surgery to treat a haematoma on her spine, which was caused by a spontaneous bleed.

The resulting injuries to her spinal cord left her a paraplegic.

“Nobody knows how well I will recover. I could be permanently in a wheelchair,” Olivia said.

Olivia, a lover of animals and the outdoors, was discharged after a six-week stay and transferred to a special rehabilitation centre for spinal injuries at Sheffield’s Northern General Hospital.

She said she looks back at her time at Queen’s Medical Centre with a positive attitude having fought through some tough moments.

“It didn’t just affect me as much as it should have at first,” she said. “It had a bigger impact on my partner, my parents and my best friend, and I wanted to stay stay positive for them.

“I came to terms with it on my own, but the biggest thing I took away from there was how important having a positive outlook on things is.

“Obviously, there were moments, and there still are moments, when I get down, but I wouldn’t have fought through it without my mum, my dad, my partner or my best friend ­— those four people are so important to me.”

She said her mum Pauline Langley, dad Gerald Langley, and her boyfriend Tom Wharmby were by her side every day.

“My parents have put their lives on hold for me. They haven’t been to work since it happened, and Tom has seen me every day after work,” Olivia said.

Rosie Bown, her best friend of 20 years, also visited Olivia as often as she could, and has started a fundraising campaign to help her deal with life after hospital.

The recovery fund will help pay for a specialised wheelchair, which will cost more than £5,000, while physiotherapy will also come at a huge expense, with sessions costing around £100 per hour.

Olivia said she will need to add a stairlift and make small changes to her new home too ­— a house she and her boyfriend recently moved into.

Rosie said: “At just 26 years old she still has so much of her life to live and I want to make sure it’s the best it can be.”

In the meantime, Olivia is taking all of the positives she possibly can, and is planning a fundraising ball after Christmas, with the proceeds split between herself and other spine-related charities.

Tomorrow, Olivia celebrates her 27th birthday and, dependant on how fit she is, she could travel in a personalised vehicle to Meadowhall for a look around some of her favourite shops.

• To keep up to date with Olivia’s progress or to donate, visit her fundraiser.