Lucy Evans, 51, was told she’d never be able to run again and couldn’t walk for three months after suffering severe back pain – but now she’s preparing for the London Marathon
A woman’s world was turned upside down when she sustained a debilitating back pain and was told she’d never be able to run again. Adding to her woes, she was left unable to walk for three months and was plagued by excruciating pain.
Lucy Evans, 51, from Yorkshire, began experiencing severe back pain a decade ago. Her condition took a terrifying turn when she attempted to lift a bag of compost from outside her home one day. The basic movement left Lucy, who was 40 years old at the time, forced to crawl back inside on her hands and knees after her back “just went”.
The ordeal left Lucy, a chief customer officer, immobilised and unable to walk for three gruelling months, while she was forced to take pain medication from the break of dawn each day.
Recounting this time, Lucy said: “I couldn’t move for three months. It was horrific, it got to the point that I couldn’t sleep and couldn’t get upstairs to bed. I was waking up and having painkillers and felt like I was in and out of a comatosed situation. I was like a living zombie.”
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She further shared her frustrating cycle of recovery and relapse: “I was told time and time again, ‘just rest and take painkillers’. I was on medication for a ridiculous amount of time, and as soon as it started to get better, I would do something like lose my footing on a step, jolt myself and be back to square one again.
“I went from being absolutely terrified I’d never properly walk again to being so comatosed to the point of not caring, and just didn’t see an end in sight.”
After a draining six-month wait on the NHS list, unable to bear the agony any longer, Lucy forked out £2,000 for steroid injections. As time passed, Lucy finally started receiving NHS care, which included annual epidurals and cauterization of her nerve endings to keep the pain at bay.
However, things took a shocking turn when doctors told Lucy that fluid leakage from a spinal disc meant she would “not get better” or ever be able to run or cycle again. Moreover, they said there was nothing she could do to exacerbate the condition.
“I was pretty miserable I thought it was something I was going to have to live with forever and I thought the next step was getting a mobility pass,” Lucy reflected.
The 2020 lockdown brought new fears for Lucy, as she worried about becoming seriously unwell with Covid as a result of her compromised fitness. “I couldn’t get to the doctors, and they stopped doing the injections for my back and said they couldn’t see me. I thought, ‘Right, well, I’m going try and do something to get a bit healthier and a bit fitter,'” she explained.
This prompted a new fitness regime for Lucy, who was determined to beat the odds. She initially got a Peloton bike to start cycling before transitioning to walk running. Just eight months later, she completed her first half-marathon.
“I just thought I’ve got nothing to lose, I need to try and get mobile myself,” Lucy expressed. “I still suffer a bit with back pain but have had no injections or epidurals since lockdown. My first milestone was one minute running and I built up bit by bit from there.
“I wanted to prove I could do something difficult and beat the stigma, I don’t like being told I can’t,” she said of the challenge.
Lucy’s next goal is to run the London Marathon next month in aid of the sight loss and disability charity Henshaws (henshaws.org.uk). Ahead of tackling the daunting 26.2-mile course, Lucy admitted: “I’m absolutely terrified. I know I’ll get round somehow.”
The 51-year-old is one of the Team Henshaws’ London Marathon runners and hopes to raise £2,000 for the charity, including its Arts Crafts Centre in Knaresborough. “I want to change other people’s lives while proving everybody wrong and showing that I can do it. I went to Henshaws’ Arts and Crafts Centre and thought it was absolutely fantastic so I’m just hoping my fundraising does something to keep it thriving,” she said.
Lucy added: “For me, it’s about inspiring other people to listen to their bodies and not to other people. If your head is saying I really want to do something just give it a go.”
You can support Lucy here: 2025tcslondonmarathon.enthuse.com/pf/lucy-evans-e6956
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