Quadriplegic who sailed solo round has regained feeling in her limbs
- Hilary Lister became first female quadriplegic to sail solo around the UK
- She has now opened up about how she has gained movement in her limbs
- Footage has emerged of her playing with dog and feeding herself a biscuit
- Yachtswoman said improvement came after a pain relief implant in 2015
Jenny Awford for MailOnline
26
View
comments
A disabled yachtswoman who became the first female quadriplegic to sail solo around the UK has told how she has miraculously regained movement in her limbs.
Hilary Lister, who was paralysed from the neck down when she finished the 1,800-mile journey in 2009, opened up about her recovery after she was filmed playing with her dog and feeding herself a biscuit.
Footage shows the 44-year-old, who was struck down with a rare degenerative disorder in her teens, picking up a pen and raising a leg while she was lying down.
Ms Lister, from Faversham, Kent, said she kept her progress a secret from family, friends and full-time carers because she was terrified it may be temporary.
Disabled yachtswoman Hilary Lister (shown) who became the first female quadriplegic to sail solo around the UK has told how she has miraculously regained movement in her limbs
‘As far as I know I’m the first person this has happened to. It is an incredible story, but it’s true,’ she told the Sunday Mirror.
‘I was beyond words – ecstatic on one hand, but I was also terrified because I thought it might go away and also because it was potentially a huge life change for me.’
-
Tradesman caught parking in disabled car space at Sydney…
Controversial UN task force slams Britain’s welfare cuts and…
She recalled the moment she first felt pins and needles in her arms after having a spinal cord implant, designed for pain relief, fitted in September 2015.
‘They turned it on and to everyone’s astonishment it worked. I immediately felt pins and needles in both of my arms and my left leg and twitches where I’d never had anything before. It was like magic,’ she said.
Ms Lister opened up about her recovery after she was filmed playing with her dog Mollie (shown)
She sailed into the history books when she completed the voyage around the UK in 2009
‘In June this year I started to feel the first trembles of movement in my shoulders and more twitches, generally in my hands. It didn’t happen overnight but gradually things progressed.’
The yachtswoman, who is understood to receive disability benefits to pay for three full-time carers, denied any suggestions she had lied about her capabilities.
Ms Lister was diagnosed with reflex sympathetic dystrophy in her teens and gradually lost use of her limbs.
She became quadriplegic, losing movement in all four of her limbs, at the age of 28 when she became unable to use her hands.
The yachtswoman, who is understood to receive disability benefits to pay for three full-time carers, denied any suggestions she had lied about her capabilities
Ms Lister covered roughly 60 miles a day with overnight stops as she circumnavigated Britain
But she did not let this get in the way of her dreams and in September 2009 she sailed into the history books when she completed the challenge.
She covered roughly 60 miles a day with overnight stops as she circumnavigated Britain.
At the time, she was paralysed below the neck and had to rely on blowing through straws connected to a computer in order to operate a 20ft racing yacht.
Her team of supporters were on hand at all times, tracking her position every night so they could tow her into port and then back to the same place in the morning.
After arriving back in Dover, she said: ‘I’m so relieved to be home but looking forward to the next challenge.’
She had to rely on blowing through straws connected to a computer in order to operate a 20ft racing yacht
Share or comment on this article
-
e-mail
Most watched News videos
- ‘You should be my biggest fan’ Gina Miller tells Farage
- Donald Trump dramatically rushed off stage by secret service
- Female student loses it and beats student over RINGTONE
- Paw-somely cute moment Belle the dog gives kisses to baby boy
- ‘My dad OWNS your a***’: School teacher hurls abuse at doorman
- Alec Baldwin’s Trump kisses the FBI, Putin and the KKK on SNL
- Is this the creepy moment the corpse of a girl OPENS her eyes?
- Woman kicks man to the floor after he gropes her in supermarket
- ‘You should be ashamed of yourself’: Leanne Wood to Farage
- Dog gets a big surprise when he eats a rather sour sweet
- Shocking moment lorry driver using his mobile kills family
- The paw that rocks the cradle: Dog gently soothes baby
-
‘You can’t review 650,000 new emails in eight days!’ Furious…
-
The Donald is rushed off the stage by Secret Service while…
-
Convicted rapist who kept woman chained up in a metal…
-
Chelsea Clinton ‘used Foundation resources for wedding’,…
-
‘I’ve never said what he said in my life!’ Trump blasts…
-
PICTURED: Jinger Duggar glows in her official wedding photo…
-
Putin’s new ‘super tank’: British intelligence warns Russian…
-
Fears grow for California mother-of-two who vanished while…
-
Clinton instructed her housekeeper to print out emails -…
-
Why these enormous snowballs in Siberia could mean America…
-
‘Is the whole world insane?’ Alec Baldwin’s Trump kisses the…
-
Are YOU middle class? Here’s how much you have to earn to be…
Comments (26)
Share what you think
-
Newest -
Oldest -
Best rated -
Worst rated
The comments below have not been moderated.
The views expressed in the contents above are those of our users and do not necessarily reflect the views of MailOnline.
Find out now