All You Need is Love

Three women found their special someone despite the obstacles

- By Helen Renshaw

'MICHAEL ACCEPTS ME FOR WHO I AM'

Helen Cooke, 53, lives in Windsor with her physiotherapist husband Michael and stepdaughter Rosie, 19.

I had surgery for a spinal tumour at just a few months old and have been a wheelchair user all my life. My parents encouraged me to be independent, and I grew up confident and resilient. But determined as I've been, I have experienced insecurities around dating. I remember watching friends meet their first boyfriends and thinking that might never happen for me.

More of a challenge

In my 20s I started meeting other people with spinal cord injuries and many of them were married or had partners, usually able-bodied. I began to think that maybe I had built this up into more of a problem than it really was. I stopped thinking it was unlikely that I'd ever meet anyone, and started thinking that it just might be slightly more of a challenge, but far from impossible.

I started internet dating in 2005 when it was still quite new. However, I didn't put that I was a wheelchair user on my profile because I was worried men might just screen me out straight away. I always told them before we met - and I did have a few online conversations that ended with them saying they didn't want to meet me any more, which was tough to deal with. Internet dating can be quite brutal - it's all about the visual.