Impact

One day whilst rock climbing, Sean lost his footing and slipped. After that he was in constant pain. He went to hospital found that the waiting time for an operation to repair the damage would be nine months. It was awful, but the emotional implications were the worst.

“Before my injury I was really into my fitness and adventure. Usually you’d find me up a mountain somewhere – I loved rock climbing and mountaineering and when I wasn’t doing that, I was volunteering as a mentor with the army cadets.

I was taken to hospital where they said I’d need an operation, but I was so scared of being operated on, I didn’t have it. I spent the next year and a half with a damaged shoulder until one night, whilst I was putting a jacket on, whatever was holding my shoulder in place just went, and my shoulder fell out of its socket.” – Sean

Sean, son-in-law of a Freemason, read Better Lives one day and realised he was eligible for support. After doubting whether his injury was serious enough for help, Sean quickly received support from the MCF to help cover the cost of surgery.

“It was only a week after that I was told I’d received a grant to fund my surgery, which was the biggest relief. It felt like a massive weight had been lifted off my shoulders, no pun intended! Two weeks later I was in hospital and by chance, I had ended up with one of the best shoulder surgeons in Europe.

From start to finish the whole process took about a month, and if I hadn’t of gotten in touch with the MCF, I still would be waiting for my operation now. I honestly don’t know what I would have done without their support; it was my last chance at being able to move my arms again and get back to the life I had before.

I can touch the top of my head again, and they say I’ll have my full range of motion back within a year!

I’ve started walking again and recently, I climbed Snowdonia as a fundraising challenge! I’m slowly going back to the gym, but importantly I’m back at work again.”