A young woman who was paralysed after getting shot in the neck while on a first date has returned to the scene after two years.
Natalie Bignell was caught by a stray bullet during a drive-by shooting outside a pub in Hackney, London, on November 22, 2020.
The then-32-year-old was left a quadriplegic following the incident involving two rival gangs.
Her C4 spinal cord injury means she will never walk or have the use of her hands again.
Natalie had two bouts of life-saving surgery and avoided brain damage.
But while she can breathe without assistance, she needs 24-hour care.
Four men involved in the shooting have been jailed for a total of nine years, reports Plymouth Live.
They are Rolls Samba, 28, Rimmel Arthur, 29, Ronnie Abedie, 27, and Kai-John Scarbrough, 22.
Natalie's family set up a GoFundMe page to help pay for her ongoing care, including an accessible home for her wheelchair.
So far it has helped raise over £56,000 of a £80,000 total and recently Natalie revealed she had returned to the scene of the shooting two years on.
She wrote: "I’ve turned two years old!
"Thank you all so much for all your support and donations, I wouldn’t have been able to achieve so much without your help.
"Turning two years young. I faced one of my fears, I re-visited my birth place along Broadway market.
"Two years ago I was walking along this road completely unaware of how a split second and a bullet was about to change my life forever.
"Coming back for the first time since that day brought back nostalgia thinking about her and a life once lived.
"I always really loved this place and now feel a stronger connection as this was where she died and I began. Grieving is such a complex process, and I am proud of myself to be able to face this head on with the help of my incredible sister."
She previously told MyLondon about her struggles to get funding, and how money raised will go towards equipment, treatment and physio.
She said: "I’m currently not getting as much as I used to. I had a lot during my recovery stage but haven’t had much further support. It’s basically so I can live my life which has obviously been massively changed.
"I’m nowhere near where I was, it’s a struggle."
She went on to say: "My family have been amazing, they’ve been really supportive. I had to give up my job, I’ve began to go back to work part time, that’s all I’m able to do now. I want as much normality in my life as possible.
“I have a lot of goals for my new life I want to work towards. I want to get as much movement back as I can and use my art to build awareness for spinal cord injuries.
“I feel like my life has been completely changed but I’ll do everything I can to have a good quality of life. I have a lot of idols with spinal cord injuries who live a good life and see no reason why I can’t."
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