'I jumped into the sea and was instantly paralysed'
Two people have an accident or medical problem causing paralysis by spinal cord injury every week in Northern Ireland.
Will Doggart from Bangor, County Down, sustained a spinal cord injury 11 years ago.
He said: "After my A-levels I went on holiday with my friends and on the last night I jumped in the sea and hit the top of my head on a sandbank and I was instantly paralysed.
"I’m paralysed from my chest and have impaired movement in my arms and don’t have any hand functions."
Will is now working for the spinal cord injury charity, Aspire. It has been funded by the National Lottery Community Fund to provide an independent living service to patients at Belfast’s Musgrave Park Hospital.
“I can see myself in a lot of the people in there; whether that's their frustration, anger or lack of motivation sometimes.
"My job is to offer practical help to people who are going through injuries, whether that's advice on welfare or on housing and financial help."
The 29-year-old and his wife are expecting their first child at the end of September.
He added: "My main message is that life doesn’t stop just because you have a spinal injury."
The number of people being injured or diagnosed each year in the UK with a spinal cord injury is estimated to be about 2,500.
Video journalist: Niall McCracken
