‘Please treat me as the same old Claire’: Triathlete Claire Danson left paralysed after crash with tractor

Triathlete Claire Danson has been left paralysed after a crash with a tractor while out on her bike.

Danson, who won the 30-34 age triathlon at the European Championships earlier this year, has revealed the extent of her injuries, which have left her unable to move from the belly button down.

In an emotional Instagram post Danson, the sister of England hockey player Alex Danson, has asked people to “treat her as the same old Claire.”

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Danson suffered two punctured lungs, a broken finger, wrists, humerus and both shoulders, fractures to all of the bones in her neck, and fractures and breaks to every one of her ribs.

The 30-year-old also suffered a complete sever to her spinal cord, which has left her paralysed.

https://www.instagram.com/cdanson10/?utm_source=ig_embed

Danson said: “Now you have all this info, all I ask is for you to remember that I’m still exactly the same person. I still have crazy hair and a mad laugh, I am still the clumsiest person you have met and I will still tell the most long-winded yet entertaining stories. So please treat me as the same old Claire. Nothing has changed there.”

While out riding on August 28, Danson collided with a tractor that left her with a catalogue of devastating injuries.

After undergoing multiple surgeries, Danson revealed details of her crash and said she wants people to follow her journey as she adjusts to life with spinal injuries.

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She added: “Having decided to share my story with you, including all the highs and lows, I would like you to follow me and I would like you to learn all about spinal injuries with me.

“This world is so new to me I want to help educate others as to what it is like and what it involves.”