This is Adi's Page
First of all, please let me say a huge thank you, to all our friends, my work mates and riding companions, who have already raised or donated money, to purchase my new lightweight wheelchair.
Some years ago, a friend’s son was injured in a motorbike accident and after months in a coma, he was left severely disabled. I followed his progress, as this young man reassembled his life and adapted to his wheelchair bound world. But all the time I thought what a nightmare it must be to be trapped in a body that doesn't work.
Every now and then when you are doing something, you get the feeling that this isn't quite right, or this could go wrong, or I shouldn't be here and if you're lucky you can do something about it. If not it all goes tits up very quickly and it was just such an occasion at the end of last October, after I had climbed on a tractor to cut a tree branch, that the saw jammed and I found myself falling backwards through the air. Since I was only seven or eight feet off the ground plus my own six feet in height, it can only have been half a second till my head hit the earth, but it was as if time had taken on a new dimension and was almost standing still, you could have watched the individual beats of a hummingbirds wing or a rifle bullet penetrate a block of wood as I waited for the inevitable thump and again as I bounced then hit the ground.
Well I wasn't dead and other than a ringing in my head, nothing seemed to hurt, besides I have always got my phone in my pocket, so I will just ring Louise to give me a hand up. Ahh that seems to be a problem, hand is not moving or fingers or anything. Okay next thing shout. Help!, well that was not very loud, nobody is likely to hear that. It seemed strange that I could talk, but not shout. So I can’t move, cannot call for help, I have broken my neck and will just have to wait till somebody finds me. Fortunately it was not long until Josh came wandering up the track, to see what I was doing.
I can remember a loud crack as the ambulance man turned my head to point it in the right direction. I felt annoyed and said “ that's done it”, but in reality the damage had already been done, as the nerve cells die in the first 20 minutes while they are starved of blood. A slow ambulance ride to Leeds LGI trying to avoid the pot-holes and there would be nothing I could do about anything for a long time to come.
The x-rays and scans clearly showed the neck bones broken and out of place between the fifth and six vertebrae from the top, they would need to be plated back into position, but the worst was yet to come, since my chest muscles were paralysed, over the next couple of days my lungs filled with fluid and I started to drown. A tracheotomy operation, meant I could breathe but no longer talk to Louise, Christine and mother, who took it in turns to be by my side night and day whilst I remained in intensive care.
Six weeks later I was transferred to Pinderfields spinal injuries unit, to start my rehabilitation. By now I could raise my arms and raise my wrists. The nerves which activate these muscles derive from above the break and had recovered. Everything from below the break was lost and would not return including hands and fingers. There are dark days, when your life takes such a change of track, but you don’t have to look far in a spinal unit to find someone who is worse off than you. So the least you can do is say you have been given a second chance.
Being paralysed is a bit like watching tv, you can see and hear everything which is going on, but feel nothing and don’t seem to be able to change the plot much. You have to ask people to do things which you would rather do yourself and one of aims of the SIU is to promote independence, however the key, when you are quadriplegic, is to focus your effort where it is most useful, as you have so many muscles, which don’t work. No point wearing yourself out trying to situp in bed, when you can press a button to lift the bed. However, washing yourself at the sink, which is a real workout, is definitely worth the effort. And so it has been with wheel chairs, I was provided with a fully electric chair, which required no effort and left me weaker each day. With the generous assistance of friends I was able to buy a lightweight chair with powered wheels, which assist my pushing. They also help with breaking when going down hill –always a good thing! I get plenty of exercise, without wearing myself out.
It is rather depressing seeing unused muscles fade away, skin deteriorate and joints seize up, due to lack of movement and reduced circulation. I was in hospital for eight months and received regular physio. In the months since June, no one has moved my legs (health and safety reasons they say!), so we are trying to buy an electric leg exerciser, like a bike with no wheels! to use each day. And that’s what the girls are running for.