PARALYZED aged just 17, George Dowell MBE, from West Sussex, believed his life was over.
Here, George and his partner Jessikah Lopez, both 32, reveal how he rebuilt his life by buying his favorite football club, before finding love after meeting online.
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George Dowell and his partner Jessikah Lopez, both 32, reveal how he rebuilt his life after George’s paralysisCredit: Instagram
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Dad George with daughter Bonnie Credit: Instagram
Lying in a hospital bed, trying to come to terms with the news that I would never walk again, I wanted to die.
Everything I loved and planned for was torn from me.
In 2010, when I was 17 years old, I was paralyzed from the chest down after a car accident in which I was a passenger.
A keen soccer player, my dream was to play semi-professionally while working as a firefighter after college.
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When the counselor told me a few days later that I would need a wheelchair for the rest of my life, I was devastated.
It was a really dark time.
I spent 10 months in hospital undergoing physiotherapy, trying to prepare myself for life as a disabled person, practically and emotionally.
Then I moved to a converted bungalow with my mother, Linda, but I had a hard time adjusting.
My self-esteem was low, I hated it when people looked at me with pity, and it wasn’t always easy to socialize because many places weren’t wheelchair accessible, so I withdrew and instead stayed at home playing computer games.
I had a lot of support from my girlfriend at the time, who I had been with since before the accident, as well as my friends – but while they were out, working, going on holiday and clubbing, I felt like my life was going nowhere.
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In 2014, my relationship ended and I worried that I might never have another one.
My partner knew and loved me before my accident, but who would want to date me now?
The following year, using the compensation money I received after the accident, I made a big decision – to buy Worthing FC.
The club was in financial difficulties and its closure would be a great loss to my local community.
I also needed purpose and to feel that my life had goals again.
I decided that if I couldn’t play football, managing the club I love would be the next best thing.
So I threw myself into my new role.
It was a lot to handle at only 22 years old, sitting in an executive boardroom, but I had good support from everyone involved.
I funded a new 3G synthetic pitch and renovated the bar area to make it more comfortable and create a community hub.
Despite all the stress, I loved the challenge.
In 2016 I was approached by dating TV show The Undateables and agreed to take part as I wanted to push myself as well as represent other young people with disabilities.
I didn’t meet anyone through the show, but participating boosted my confidence and over the next few years I went on a few dates.
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George loved football as a child Credit: Instagram
But I never made the first move when I saw someone I liked in a bar, because I was afraid of being rejected.
In 2019, a Facebook post by a girl named Jessikah popped up on my feed.
She followed me since I was on the TV show and she was gorgeous.
So I sent her an emoji message – and she replied.
The next week we texted, then FaceTimed, and it was so easy, it was like I’d known her for years.
She already knew I was disabled and I felt I could be myself as we laughed for hours.
We decided to meet up to see if our online spark could become one in real life.
I was worried that seeing me in a wheelchair might be too much for her, but luckily it wasn’t and we became a couple.
‘I chase after my daughter – it’s normal for her that dad is disabled’
I felt so lucky that Jessikah wanted to be with me and in 2020 we moved together into a house adapted to my needs.
Then, last November, our daughter Bonnie was born.
Holding her in my arms, I felt like the last piece in the puzzle of a life I had been rebuilding since my accident.
I can pet and feed Bonnie, and as she’s getting more active, I’m now chasing her in my chair.
It’s normal for her that dad is disabled, and we go on trips to the park and on family holidays – they just need extra planning.
If you had told me 14 years ago, as I lay in a hospital bed, that I would fall in love, become a dad, buy my favorite football club – which I still run today and have seen through several promotions – and receive an MBE in 2023 for services to federal football and disability awareness, I would never believe you.
My life changed overnight when I became disabled, but what happened led me to Jessikah and Bonnie and I feel incredibly lucky.
Jessica says: “When I first started dating George, family and friends kept asking me the same question: ‘Are you sure?’
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George, pictured with his family, says: ‘I felt so lucky that Jessikah wanted to be with me’ Credit: Instagram
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George poses with his wife Jessikah next to the Premier League trophy Credit: Instagram
My answer was always: ‘Yes.’ I understood their concerns, as they worried that his disability would make it impossible for us to have a normal life, and I knew that being with George would bring challenges that other couples would not have to face.
But I also knew that no one is perfect and that life is unpredictable.
The most important thing to me is that we are incredibly connected, that he makes me happy and that he is a good man.
I never expected that following George on social media after watching him on The Undateables would lead to us becoming a couple.
To be honest, I was just curious, because I thought he was really cute and adorable!
But when he texted me in 2019, I couldn’t believe how well we got along.
For the first few years of our relationship, including after we moved in together during the pandemic, I was very clear that we should maintain a boundary between us as a couple and George’s caregiving needs, and he agreed.
However, as time passed, I realized that I wanted to take care of him.
I didn’t like our family life being interrupted by carers coming and going, and I loved George, so it started to feel natural to show it in a different way.
It wasn’t easy for him to accept this help from me at first, but I insisted that I wanted to do it and reminded him that he cared about me in so many other ways, including emotionally.
In 2021, we decided that we want to start a joint family.
We can have sex like any couple – something that often surprises people – but due to the nature of George’s paralysis, we needed IVF to conceive.
It was a long process, but in early 2023 we found out I was pregnant after our first round of treatment.
We were completely overjoyed.
My pregnancy was difficult, as I wasn’t very well for most of it, and I know George struggled with not being able to look after me as much as he wanted.
‘I knew George would throw himself into fatherhood and find a way around the challenges’
That November, when I gave birth to Bonnie and watched George rock her tiny body in his arms, I thought my heart was going to explode.
I never had any doubts about having a child with him.
I knew how determined George was and that he would throw himself into fatherhood and find a way around the challenges, which he did.
When Bonnie was very small, he carried her in a sling to keep her safe while she sat on his lap, and he has special gloves to help him grip to give her a bottle.
Now he follows her in the garden and feeds her dinner.
She adores her dad.
If people look at us when we’re out and about as a family and wonder how we manage, with me able-bodied and George disabled, I’d like to tell them that it really doesn’t make a difference.
Disability is part of our relationship, but it does not define it, and it certainly does not diminish it. George is the love of my life.”
- Watch George and Jessikah in The Club That George Built, on Discovery+
- Follow them on Instagram @Thewheellife_
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George and Jessikah used IVF to conceive Bonnie’s child Credit: Instagram
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Using the compensation money he received after the accident, George bought Worthing FCCredit: Instagram
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A couple in love leaves the hospital with their babyCredit: Instagram
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George was paralyzed at just 17 years old Credit: Instagram
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Source: HIS Education