In an Instant a Magazine Changed My Life Forever

The July 1970 edition of Vogue

It was a beautiful summer’s morning; I was on my way to work and pushed for time. I saw the July edition of Vogue on the newsstand. I was so tempted to go and buy it, but I didn’t want to be late for work.

My summer job was working in the stores department of an electrical components company. I counted and packed resistors into bags of fifty. One bag after another, after another, after another. The morning dragged on…

I had two things on my mind. A letter that I had received the previous week, and that issue of Vogue. It was 1970 and nearly all teenagers like me had a passion for fashion. It was the era of Mary Quant, Celia Birtwell and Ossie Clark.

Finally the bell rang, it was lunchtime and I was on a mission. I raced down the stairs, out of the door and into the sunshine. I checked for traffic, and I was halfway across the road when I thought I heard someone calling me. I hesitated, turned, heard a motorbike and saw the sky at the same time.

I felt myself falling, my head bounced on the road. I fell in and out of consciousness. The next thing I remember was an ambulance officer leaning over me. “Don’t move her, I think she’s broken her neck.”

I felt a mask being put over my face; I tried to take it off, someone held my arm down. “I’m claustrophobic. Please don’t…”

A needle pricked my arm, I felt dizzy. Then I saw a pair of scissors, they were cutting my brand new bottle green straight leg Levi cords! I had saved up for them for weeks; they were the height of fashion.

I saw the ceiling of an ambulance, I felt sleepy, then there were doors, corridors, a lift, strip lights going past, everything went black.

I woke up in a hospital bed. I tried to turn my head but couldn’t. I opened my eyes and my Mum leant over me. She kissed my head and smiled, even though there were tears in her eyes. “Don’t worry, we’ll manage.”

“Manage what? What’s wrong, what happened?”

“You’ve been in an accident.”

“Mum, I can’t feel my legs!”

“Don’t worry love, I’ll go and find the doctor.”

I looked around the room, and saw a wheelchair, surely not... After what seemed like hours, my Mum came back with the doctor.

“Hello, I’m Doctor Weiner. How are you feeling? Any pain anywhere?”

“No, but I can’t feel my legs. What’s wrong with me?”

The doctor looked uncomfortable; I was on the verge of tears.

The doctor continued “You were hit by a motorbike, there’s some damage to your spine.”

“What sort of damage?” I asked. “Your back is broken” he said.

“But I will get better, won’t I?” The doctor looked at my Mum. “I don’t think your daughter will walk again.”

Talk to me, it’s my back! “What! But my audition is in three weeks’ time.”

“Audition?”

My Mum could barely get the words out. “For the Royal Ballet School.”