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Kristen’s life changed almost overnight. In early 2022, she suddenly developed extreme anxiety, tremors, and escalating neurological symptoms that no one could explain. Within months, she lost her voice, her confidence, and eventually her mobility — going from walking for half an hour to barely lasting five minutes. Her husband carried her up and down the stairs. She stopped going out. She hid from friends and family because she couldn’t face the questions. 

This episode follows Kristen’s raw, honest journey through misdiagnosis, fear, and the emotional shock of becoming a full-time wheelchair user at 26. It also traces the unexpected moment everything shifted — a chance encounter at Paddington Station with another wheelchair user — and how that single conversation opened the door to wheelchair basketball, then padel, and ultimately a new identity. Today, Kristen is Britain’s number-one female wheelchair padel player. 

Her story is about identity, loss, resilience, and rebuilding a life that looks nothing like the one she had before — but one she is proud of.

00:00 Losing mobility, losing her voice — everything collapses

00:23 Meet Kristen: nurse and Britain’s No.1 wheelchair padel player

01:31 The sudden anxiety and confusion in 2022

03:37 Misdiagnosis, dismissal, and declining mobility

06:13 Losing her voice — and losing her identity

11:37 The Bath trip: realising she can no longer walk

17:27 Isolation, hiding from the world, husband becoming a carer

23:53 Paddington Station: the moment everything changed

27:58 From wheelchair basketball to becoming No.1 in padel

31:29 The pink hair: reclaiming identity and confidence