I've Been Able To Help So Many People

Dr Margo Whiteford has been breaking down barriers all her life. Wendy Glass finds out more.

- Wendy Glass

WHEN I was born, my parents were told to take me home and ‘Let nature take its course’,” Dr Margo Whiteford CBE explains.

“I was diagnosed with spina bifida at birth and the doctors initially gave my parents a very gloomy picture of what the future held for me. However, with my parents’ help, I’ve certainly proved those doctors wrong.”

From the start, Margo’s parents were determined their daughter would lead a fulfilling, independent life.

“I’m fifty-eight and, when I was born, there were few facilities for children with disabilities and next to no support for their families,” Margo continues, adding that she is paralysed from the waist down and has spent most of her life in a wheelchair.

“My parents were continually fighting for my rights and, in the process, they met other parents of children with spina bifida.