A woman who used to have the life of a “vegetable” is set to take her first ever steps outdoors to raise money for charity.

Lisa Borrett, 34, has cerebral palsy but with the help of BWell gym in Great Yarmouth she has pushed herself to become independent.

She is now ready to leave her wheelchair in the open air for the first time ever, walking a quarter of a mile to raise money for Yarmouth-based Centre 81 where she volunteers, and for her enterprise called Life Takes Two.

Using her special walker, Ms Borrett is determined to inch round the track of Yarmouth’s Wellesley Recreation Ground at midday on Wednesday.

Her incredible transformation has given her “a life I never believed someone like me could have” – and now she is fighting to give something back.

Her life change started with a chance meeting with exercise specialist and former international athlete Paul Brice, who has been her motivator and “saviour” for nearly a decade.

“I was a vegetable when I met Paul, had lost all my teenage years – and now I’m making up for it.”

Ms Borrett only started to walk eight months ago.

“I spent years as a lump in my bedroom, pumped full of drugs to control my pain and being totally out of it, just watching TV,” she said. “I was on morphine and so many other drugs and pain killers.

“Some of them fused my voicebox and I could only say a few one-syllable words and do baby babble.

“If Paul hadn’t been working with my dad for a lung condition and asked if he could try some exercises with me, I believe I would be dead now.”

She said of her charity challenge: “I know it will be incredibly hard and slow but I am telling myself in my head that I can do this and I will.

“I am determined to raise money for the incredible Centre 81 and for Life Takes Two which I set up to help more people like me who believe they can’t do anything – disabled people whose favourite words are “I can’t.”

Ms Borrett is concerned that funding is not available for people with cerebral palsy to access physical exercise help.

“I paid for myself,” she explained. “If I had a lung condition or a heart condition I might have got funding.

“That is why I set up Life Takes Two, to help people with medical conditions who have no access to funding to the exercise that changed my life.

“I don’t want funding for myself. I am trying to get more funds so I can put more people into my programme and help more people with disabilities.”

To cheer Ms Borrett on, join Centre 81 supporters at the Wellesley on Wednesday at midday.

To sponsor her, see tinyurl.com/lisaborrett

See www.lifetaketwo.co.uk