1. How it began

Don't take for granted the touch of a child's hand and the trust they invest in you

Ok, so it didn't actually begin here, but things never do begin where we think they do, do they? And since this is a story, I can be less than exact, not so much with 'facts', as with details.

Some years ago, I forget how many,  for my memory isn't what it used to be. I found myself unable to walk, stand, lift anything (including my beautiful and, at that time, tiny kids) or do very much except lie on my back. This sorry state continued for about 8 to 10 months.

I tried almost every type of therapy you can think of, from a long course of daily traditional Chinese acupuncture, Chakra healing, massage therapy, chiropractic, psychotherapy, energy healing,  hot baths, ice packs, visualisations, rest and many more besides.

Various pain killers didn't even touch the pain, which was chronic, debilitating and constant. Because of my commitment to total abstinence from mind altering chemicals, I kicked them into touch. My spine had organised itself with the help of my core muscles into an antalgesic scoliosis which made me walk like Quasimodo and gave me virtually no vertical stability.

Finally, I even went to a 'conventional' NHS doctor, so intense was the pain and so deep my desperation, to request a scan. This eventually came and I only had to wait 12 weeks, because I was self employed and had 4 dependents.

The MRI scan showed two prolapsed discs and after waiting some more weeks to see a spinal specialist, I was offered an injection of steroids and painkillers into my spine. Serious side effects, very little chance of long term success and an abiding mistrust in the medical and pharmaceutical industries in their present form led me to continue the search for an alternative.

At this time I started to see a cranial osteopath who told me to go to my local pool and hang vertically with a float under my armpits to encourage my spine to vertically extend. I was to allow the core muscles to weaken at the same time to relax their grip (so no physio or pilates etc). I hung at the pool every morning for a year or more.

Progress was slow- on leaving the pool, I was in so much pain I would have to sit down at least once on the 100m walk to my car. After 4 months I began to feel some slight relief and with 4 weekly visits to my osteo. After about 8 months I walked for the first time for an hour without turning grey, sweating and being unable to do other than constantly think about my back.