Cat Neill to take on fundraising walk for Day One just one year after she suffered life-changing injuries when she was hit by a car
Cat Neill was near the end of an early morning 5k training run on 7 February 2024 when a car drove across a roundabout, mounted the pavement and hit her, sending her flying in the air. Cat landed on the hard pavement on Geneva Road, near to Neasham Road, Darlington, breaking several bones in her left leg and ankle.
She was treated at the Major Trauma Centre at The James Cook University Hospital in Middlesbrough, where she spent the next seven months in and out of hospital for nine operations to save her leg. Medics warned her several times that they may have to amputate her leg due to the severity of her injuries.
Cat, who was fit and active before the incident, spent six months with an external fixator (a special metal frame) on her leg and has only just built up the strength to walk again. Cat struggled with the psychological impact of her injuries, which included skin grafts that left her leg looking like ‘a patchwork quilt’.
On Friday 7 February 2025 Cat aims to walk one mile unaided, finishing at the site where she was injured, to raise money for Day One.
Cat, a mortgage adviser, spent a long time off work and benefited from Day One’s peer support service, where she spoke regularly with a volunteer who had previously experienced catastrophic injuries but was further along their recovery journey. Day One’s caseworker was also by her side during a return visit to hospital and the charity continues to support her during her recovery at home.
Cat said: “Day One have been fantastic. I had a good network of family and friends around me, but everyone was emotionally attached to me. If I had a day where I was feeling particularly upset or annoyed with the world, I needed someone who didn’t know me to listen. Someone who wouldn’t try to make everything better, because ultimately nobody could. I wanted to speak to someone who had had a similar experience. That’s exactly what I got when speaking to a Day One Peer Support Volunteer.
“Until you’ve experienced major trauma yourself, you could never begin to understand every part of it. I have gained so much from connecting with the Day One team. I feel like my trauma has been a similar journey to grief or bereavement – you have lots of people around you at the start, but that disappears as time passes. It’s the quiet moments that are difficult and trying to function in a world that isn’t fully set up for people with disabilities.
“I’m not fully recovered yet, and to be honest, I’m not sure I ever will be. Physically, I’m back at the gym and consistently overcoming challenges. I feel that I lived a life in one body for 36 years and now I’ve been transported into a new one, and that’s a lot to take. Lots of people don’t have the wonderful support I have had and that is why I am so keen to promote the valuable work of Day One.”
We’re incredibly grateful that Cat is now support Day One to help others. Find out more about Cat’s challenge and show your support: https://www.justgiving.com/page/cat-neill-1milewalk
