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Peta Barratt: Support Co-ordinator

At 53, Peta experienced a traumatic fall that resulted in a severed spinal cord and full paralysis from the waist down. Before her injury, she had successfully run her own dancing school in South Buckinghamshire for 35 years, teaching ballet, tap, and modern dance to children aged 2–18.

Her disability made it impossible to continue in an active teaching role, bringing her long-standing career and business to an abrupt end. Drawing on her skills and determination, Peta discovered a new passion for wheelchair dancing.

This quickly became a great success, and in 2025 she represented Team GB at an international competition in Holland, winning Gold in her freestyle event. Motivated to support others, Peta volunteered with the Spinal Injuries Association (SIA) for four years, predominantly at Stoke Mandeville, providing empathetic and practical peer support to patients with life-changing injuries or illnesses. During this time, she also became involved with the SAFE Forum and joined the Luton London Airport Accessibility Forum.

Peta also lives with a stoma. Since 2015, she has volunteered with Macmillan, offering patient support, signposting, and taking a lead role in maintaining information sheets used in patient packs for those receiving a cancer diagnosis. Outside of her volunteering and dancing, Peta enjoys travelling and visiting the theatre. Peta now works 2.5 days a week providing vital administrative and coordination support for Colostomy UK’s stoma services.

Her role includes answering calls on the helpline, liaising with volunteers, managing our CRM system, responding to inbox and live chat queries, processing literature orders, and helping to keep our support services running smoothly.