Woman May 28 1955 Page 57

Woman's Mirror continues on page 58

Woman's Mirror true stories of real people

Learning to LIVE 
 Once Rosemary was active and vital; now she is a cripple in a wheelchair..
"DID you ever do the rhumba?" asked the doctor suddenly. To Rosemary Smyth, lying paralysed in hospital, it seemed a most unprofessional question. She was even more startled when the doctor began to rhumba round the ward. 
But he was making a good point, for Rosemary still had one important muscle intact, the one needed to do the rhumba. 
That was Rosemary's first realization that there could be hope for the future since she was paralysed in an accident three years ago.  The years since then have been a struggle against pain and loneliness, a fight for the simplest of movements, even for life itself.
Rosemary, fine horsewoman and show jumper, set out for South Africa, with her mother and sister, in high spirits, eager to stay and work there. Then came the accident. No one thought Rosemary would live, but she fought for her life and won, to find she was quite unable to move from the neck down. 
Life seemed intolerable for this girl, who had always been so vital and active. Her doctor's advised her to return to England for treatment and rehabilitation. The words meant nothing to Rosemary. What rehabilitation could there be for her?
Rosemary's return 
Her friends clubbed together and raised the fare, and Rosemary was persuaded to return to England. She went into a country hospital and learned about the rhumba.
But there were many months of  struggle and disappointment yet to come. Rosemary moved from hospital to hospital. She felt very much alone, often the only case of her kind in the general wards. It was easy to become withdrawn and "shut away:" 
Then, at last, she went to Stoke Mandeville, one of the finest hospitals in the world for spinal diseases and injuries. 
Rosemary felt alone no longer. There were hundreds of others like her, some even worse than herself. Yet they were all cheerful, helpful and full of fun. They played netball and learned archery in wheelchairs.
Rosemary began to feel a real interest in life again. She wanted to start afresh and learn to manage her strange,  paralysed limbs. 
At first she was allowed out of bed for five minutes only. But the thrill ! The arms of the wheelchair beneath her sensitive hands felt reassuring,
New freedom  
She was so weak in the early days that she had to learn to stay in the chair before she was able to push it and frequently she fell out. 
But soon came the indescribably exciting sensation of movement, of learning to control this chair which could give her new freedom. 
There was the joy of wearing something other than pyjamas; of wheeling herself into the bathroom and washing and dressing unaided.  After a month, she was able to join a class for exercise in walking,learning to balance with the help of her few remaining muscles, until, with supports, she walked a few steps.

Above: Rosemary was once a fine show jumper.
Left: A pulley in the garage helps her to change chairs

The date of Rosemary's discharge approached. She could hardly believe that she was able to think about getting a job. Prompted by her love of animals, she found, through the local Labour Exchange, a job with an Aylesbury veterinary surgeon. 
Now she is his receptionist, interviewing clients, receiving animals for treatment, working on test charts for local dairy herds. One day she hopes to go into business on her own, breeding dogs.
"I'm really pretty independent now," says Rosemary. "Of course, there are difficulties sometimes, even with a wheelchair. There are steps, or doors that aren't wide enough. 
"But I do my washing and ironing, and shampoo my hair. I've got a pulley over my bed so that I can pull myself up and into my wheelchair, and another pulley in the garage so that I can transfer to an electric wheelchair. Oh, I'm all right." 
So, with three years of mixed memories, Rosemary starts again.
DAWN SPARKES 
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SPORTSGIRLS ON PARADE
   
PAT rallies for Britain

After last year’s Monte Carlo rally-left to right, Pat with Mary Walker and Muriel Dodds

WHEN Pat Falcbney drives her car from the outskirts of Chester, where she lives, to shop in the busy city centre, she has to go very slowly through narrow, crowded streets.
On occasions like that, Pat can afford to take her time. But it's very different when she's at the wheel in an international motor rally, driving to a time schedule. Then, every second counts. Twenty-five year old Pat learned to drive four years ago. She has never been fortunate enough to enter a rally with a car of her own, but she has become one of the most efficient and successful “co-drivers” on the road.
Tall, slim and well groomed, Pat first made herself a proficient driver by collecting and delivering cars from factories.
In this way, she handled a large variety of makes, and also learned to find her way around the British Isles.
Her first chance to compete in a rally came when she partnered Nancy Mitchell in the 1953 R.A.C. Rally of Great Britain. They were third in the ladies event. She has since driven successfully with many other drivers both here and abroad.
Long distance rally driving is exacting and sometimes nerve racking. A careful system has to be worked out between driver and co-driver, and a mistake in judgment can easily lose a place or prize.
"You've got to have your wits about you the whole time, whether you're driving or navigating," Pat said. “You can't afford to make mistakes with map-reading or clock-watching. There's very little time to eat or sleep. I always carefully pack a make-up box, but never seem to use it.
"At the end of four days and four nights on the road your mouth is parched and your eyes feel as if they're full of sand.
“But when you reach the finish, even if you don't win, the relief is worth every exhausting minute. The Monte Carlo rally is most exciting, but I love driving at any time, anywhere."
She smiled and added: “The only set-back about getting used to a car is that it makes you dreadfully lazy. I never walk an inch if I can help it !”
BARBARA COOPER,
------------------------------------------------------Woman's MIRROR looks  in 
on a perfect marriage.
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