WHEN doctors said she would never walk again, Lindsay Chapman thought her life was over. But now the 34-year-old keep fit fan from Wimborne is living her dream of becoming a fitness instructor.

Lindsay ran regularly and was a member of the Reserves, preparing for active service, when she came off her bike during a low-speed collision with a car on a Poole roundabout three years ago.

“I had done enough first aid courses to know instantly that something was terribly wrong – I couldn’t feel my legs,” says Lindsay. “I had X-rays and CT scans and when the doctor came back and shook his head I knew he meant I’d never walk again and it felt like my life was over.”

The collision left Lindsay, a former financial analyst, paralysed from the sternum down.

She was transferred to the spinal unit at Odstock Hospital in Salisbury and was supported through Back Up, an organisation helping those with recent spinal injuries and The Spinal Injury Association.

“I’ve had the most incredible support from family and friends and organisations who have given me the strength, confidence, techniques and help to realise my potential.

“After the accident I travelled the world – visiting Australia, New Zealand, Hong Kong, Sri Lanka and Bangkok – I did the whole trip as if I was able-bodied, with no special treatment. I travelled for a month alone and this has given me so much confidence for everyday life in a wheelchair.”

When she returned to Dorset she discovered through DOTS Disability and the disability charity Access Dorset about a course at the Littledown Centre to become a fitness instructor.

“My active lifestyle before the accident always caused people to question why I’d chosen to work in a bank instead of a gym. Now I’m determined to fulfil my full potential – having a disability makes life more challenging but it won’t hold me back.”

Lindsay is now a qualified fitness instructor and will be working to help people with all levels of ability achieve their fitness goals.

She also works for Back Up as a wheelchair skills instructor, visiting other people with spinal injuries around the UK.

“I’m a better person now than I was before the accident,” adds Lindsay. “I know people find it hard to believe, but in many ways my life is better now – I’ve met some amazing people and had the opportunities to achieve things I would never have thought possible before.”

Jonathan Waddington-Jones, founder of Access Dorset (an umbrella organisation linking disability charities in the county) adds: “Lindsay is an inspiration - she has achieved far more since her accident than many non-disabled people do in a lifetime and we know her story will help other disabled people live full lives. We’re here to help and I urge others in Lindsay’s situation to get in touch via the website accessdorset.org.uk.”