Leah Birkin

Leah broke and dislocated her t11 vertebrae playing rugby for Yorkshire in May 2018. She underwent spinal surgery to stabilise the break and fix two metal rods to support the fracture and allow for repair. Although Leah recovered physically it left her with a few mental scars and she struggled to get back to who she was pre-accident. Leah said "After my injury I felt a huge loss of identity and lost my way. Ed reached out to me early on after my injury and I have followed his journey ever since. He is my biggest inspiration and has shown me that life can be tough sometimes, it's how we challenge the adversity that counts!"

In 2020 Leah was offered a beneficiary place with M2M and although she couldn't attend the Viking Challenge this year due to Covid she completed a weekend in Wales with the M2M team and is set to embark on another challenge in 2022. Leah is really excited for next year - "Ed and the M2M team have inspired me to keep pushing forwards and have provided me with the opportunity to meet people with similar physical and mental battles as my own. I am looking forward to next year with M2M and the challenges ahead. Having goals and challenges to focus on with M2M has allowed me to regain a sense of identity, purpose and the opportunity to spend time outside with like-minded people."

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