e l t t i L e M k c i P s! U
RELIEF! Emma Spencer, 37, from Durham, was a personal trainer with a very personal problem…
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My family are amazing
fter years of struggling with IBS, which resulted in many embarrassing situations, personal trainer Emma Spencer has finally found relief for it. After being diagnosed with the condition as a teen, Emma struggled to go to the toilet and always felt extremely bloated. ‘It took a mental toll on me, too,’ she said. ‘I was so worried about passing gas at school and I felt so embarrassed all the time.’ As a personal trainer, Emma has always enjoyed a good, balanced diet,
It’s changed my life
which she now enjoys with her family – husband Kevin, 42, and kids Leighton, 13, Mason, 11, Abigail, six, and Lillie, two. There were no obvious causes, and she she tried everything to alleviate the problem. ‘I was taking laxatives for years to try and help, but I gave that up after I gave birth to Leighton,’ she went on to explain. ‘My GP also gave me a gel to use, but that ended up giving me the runs. Stress made my IBS worse, and the longer it went on, the more stressed I became. ‘It was a vicious cycle.’ Emma says it was not unusual
for her to g whole weeks between clearing her bowels. ‘I felt constantly anxious about embarrassing work and social situations, where I feared I’d unwittingly pass gas,’ she admitted. ‘It was taking a toll on my mental health and I knew I needed to sort this out.’ In 2018, Emma saw an article about Alforex, a probiotic capsule that promised to help with IBS. ‘About three weeks after taking it, things really started to change,’ she said. ‘My bowel movements were regular and I was starting to feel
I was always anxious
WORDS BY HANNAH POON PHOTOS: SWNS
INTO THE
When Kelda Wood, 46, from Shropshire suffered a fatal injury, she refused to let it get her down…
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’ve always been big into my sport and fitness. As a professional horse rider, I absolutely loved being outside. But then one day in 2002, when I was 30, all that came tumbling down. I was out in the stables, sorting out the haystacks, when suddenly, one fell from the top and landed on my head. Weighing over a tonne,
All of the participants inspire me
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the haystack immediately crushed my body to the ground, shattering my left ankle as a result. My leg was severely damaged, and I knew that my life had changed forever. It was a long recovery and my ankle developed arthritis, so I wouldn’t be able to do all the sport I loved. I’d lost my identity. It was a tough journey and for the next nine years, I battled with my mental health, before training as an outdoor instructor and eventually climbing Kilimanjaro in 2010. That’s when I came up with the idea for my charity Climbing Out. I knew there were people ke me who were struggling o accept an injury, disability
It’s been a long journey I’m so proud of myself
or trauma and I wanted to help. So, I set up the five-day activity programme. It’s mostly for people aged 16-30, who have a disability, injury, illness or trauma that they need to overcome. We now have an over 30’s programme, too. For five days, me and a small team take them out into the wilderness and do lots of fun activities together. From climbing to canoeing, to even helping in the kitchen. Although it’s about overcoming obstacles, it’s also about showing them they’re not alone in their recovery. Since setting up the charity,
I’ve been inspired by the young people I work with. I could have let it get me down, but instead, I climbed Mount Aconcagua in South America in 2017. And last year, I became the first adaptive person to solo row around the Atlantic Ocean. Rowing 3,000 miles alone for 76 days was tough and tiring. But I raised over £50,000 for Climbing Out. Every day, I
