Mother who goes for 20-mile hikes in her BIKINI says it helps manage her back pain

Ann Wheeler, 59, suffers from Cauda Equina syndrome - a rare spinal condition that can cause paralysis. 

She claims walking and wild swimming provide a natural pain management as strong as traditional painkillers - and has also slimmed from a size 16 to a slinky 12. 

But her crusade has been met with criticism online and some women have even ordered their husbands to steer clear. 

 

Ann from Clayton-le-Woods, Lancashire, said: “They think because I wear a bikini I’m flaunting myself.”

“Not everyone takes their tops off on mountain tops.

“I was due to hike with some male walkers from Essex but they said they couldn’t because their wives had got wind of it. I went anyway because I’d taken time off work.”

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Ann suffers from Cauda Equina syndrome - a rare spinal condition that can cause paralysis

Ms Wheeler began walking after being inspired by a near-death experience following an operation on her spine five years ago.

She said: “A nurse helped me get out of bed the following day; I said I didn’t feel very well and the next thing I was out.

Not everyone takes their tops off on mountain tops. 

  Ann Wheeler

“I remember a doctor working on my chest. When I came to he said ‘welcome back, you’re back with us’.

“I also remember going down a black hole… my bodily functions had shut down. I turned my life around after that.”

It took Ms Wheeler six months before she could walk again.

After that she was so bored with staying indoors, she decided to go for a stroll which turned into a ten-mile hike.

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The mum says the walkingacts as pain relief from her spinal condition

Since then – despite being in pain every day - she’s tackled all 214 ‘Wainwright’ walks in The Lake District and taken part in swimming challenges in mountain lakes.

Ms Wheeler, who first featured in the Daily Express in January 2015, said: “Life is for living. 

"I’m doing it for me and for women to show they shouldn’t be ashamed of their bodies. 

“A lot of women are knocked down so much because of their bodies.

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Ann poses topless with her friend after conquering an intense climb

“I was never confident with my body for years and hid it away and then when I got older I thought ‘to hell with it’.

“I’m 59 and I’d love to get other women doing it too. It has a great feel-good factor.

“I got a lot of abuse because I’m in my bikini, they’re just jealous. They’ve judged me wrong – it’s totally out of order.

“The pain Cauda Equina leaves you with is horrible. I’m an old woman, an OAP, but I’ll keep walking and open-water swimming all through the year.

“It’s my mind that gets me through things. People look at me and think ‘she can’t be sick’ but they should try living in my body.”

Ms Wheeler has been inundated with messages from women, particularly those with painful back problems, who’ve seen her achievements and cite her as an inspiration.

She said: “I think it’s lovely that people say I’m an inspiration, but I’m just doing something I like doing.”

“I won’t take painkillers – the happy endorphins are the painkillers for me. I just love it – it makes me feel great.”

Source:Express.co.uk

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