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Barry O'Connell
Thank god for SIA, is how I shall open this experience article.
Why until the start of this year 9 months ago, I was totally and utterly unaware of this so wonderful organisation, and it's team of wonderful listeners and helpers. Yes, listeners they listen with great intent on every word you speak, and then make you feel your not alone nor spoken to other than as a human being, that not condescending voice or one voice that appears to show a person looking a clock and thinking is it near my going home time?
Yes I can not ever speak more highly of this truly wonderful body and it's staff!
But adding all of this, I am so to speak the new boy on the block, I had my accident on 13th March 2005, I was trying to earn brownie points from my wife, I was going to prune my tree at the front my home, why pay someone for doing a job I was well capite off doing I thought.
Well, I knew how health and safety made great emphasis on making all ladders safe far to many accidents occur from accident by people not securing their ladders securely. So I tie the ladder to the tree wedge the feet to stop a slide out and even tug the ladder to make sure all secure.
Now where was my wife? this will make her give me the brownie points when she appears, up I go only to do about five minutes of work, when I heard a crack just under me, looking down, I found the main branch holding the top of the ladder had broken, I must add here before I get the usual joke I have had since and that is did you cut that main branch! well I might have an Irish name but come on!!!
The result was the ladder sort went down a bit, and then come back up and flipped me into the air, I guess I would have got a gold medal in the olympics for Great Britain the spin I did that day! I must add in my time in the forces I had done para training, I was amazed to be told one day in the course by an RAF officer to if all else failed on the day he taught about para accidents, to push your chin hard in to your chest prior to hitting the ground. I thought personally god I thought officers were the ones with brains how could man falling like he was from a plane at such speed tuck in his or her chin and hope this would do a saver job on them.
But I owe that officer a bottle of Scotland finest drink why? well as I was just about to hit my concrete drive I raise my head and tucked it into my chest.
The result was being told by the specialist at the hospital he did not understand why I had no skull injury or even death in view of the height or the amount damage I had done.
Well this is sadly is the part I am about to refer to as the moment when the NHS lost the plot, and backs up the SIA theory of ALL spine injuries being taken to a Spine hospital ASP rather than like now and as with myself taken to general hospital, who sadly and not to get the SIA a law suite, shall just say it was all wrong from start to finish. But that is another story at another time if you can stand it.
I broke T1 to T4 and in terms crush my spine about three times, I am still on going at outpatients at Stanmore, that again is another saga of great reading, basically I seem to be an odd ball who all specialist cannot understand why I still seem to getting worse or not doing things in the sense of my body not doing things according the book. I got one last test on the 26th of July an electrode test and the Neurosurgeon will advise my spine specialist on the findings of this test and who knows then what the outcome will be.
But I will close I would not have ever been treat so greatly or better than the way my very good and wonderful wife has done for me, we forget so easily the fact of when an accident such as mine occurs who has to come to terms with it all the accident? victim or the person whom is married to the accident victim. She has been my Rock of Gibraltar, without her I would have been in a terrible state from tying my shoes to simple holding hand at night when she knows the pain has kicked in or I am trying to easy out quietly my emotions and not doing a great job of it as soon as I feel her hand in the dark, and then the voice says quietly I am here for you. So how could you not feel for the person whom gives all the comfort and care one could ask for.
Well I hope my story and account of myself has been enjoyable, I must just add to be in wheelchair is a great experience to get a shopping basket wallop you on the back of your head and the person doing it rather than saying sorry, etc., just walks off looking at you like god knows what, but when you see that person later engrossed in looking at meat in the frozen meat aisle you get up quite a speed in your chair and run over their foot and as you about to wheel off give them a look as to say how stupid to leave your foot out.
-------------------------------- Additional Story 23/10/2006
I as I say broke my back on 13th March 2005, I when I hit the deck (excuse my forces lingo) drive, knew that all was wrong, but my forces mode kicked in, in other words 'old son" you in trouble big time. So thinking I was in some foreign field in conflict, I crawled behind my confer bush, that will give me cover my mind thought, funny my mind never knew it was a quite Sunday in Clacton-On-Sea, and nobody was about to take shot at me.
Well, after a few moments I thought god how do I breathe and think old son do not let shock take over. Dam where was my Morphine vessel they used to give us. O yes I better move so I rose very steadily, how I did not break my teeth or jaw as I gritted them as I rose I will never know? A shout come over the fence by the old boy at the back of my property, "here you just fallen off your ladder" and with that went indoors, god how I love British sense of humour!!! then my neighbour at the rear of my home come out and asked "are you all right" god how my normally very blue lingo works when I do stupid things I do not know, I guess I was still smiling at the last remark.
So I went indoors so as not to worry my wife a bit I just said 'I think I pulled my back a bit" as I sat on my bed gingerly. She rushed to get a tube of deep heat and off with my shirt (I must admit I was worried in case she thought I might fill in the mood for love ripping off my shirt so quickly).
Well, after a few moments I said in whisper 'god I think it is worse than I thought I think we better go to hospital." So feeling a total utter dipstick, I drove to my local hospital, this hospital has no major A&E though we have over head of us all of London's aircraft stacking up. So the woman at the desk asked in most pleasant British way do I want a seat??
So after they unlocked the X-Ray department, I seem to have then got a lot more staff and then it seem to go mad, what had I done, I could not ask as thing were being shoved into me neck brace and head brace, being put in place. Then a medic from the ambulance service telling me had I been in a helicopter before god had she any idea how many times I spent in them?
So we went by road to my local airfield or Clacton Airport as we call it, about 1/4 mile away with all thing's going woooo wo so slowly in route. Then up a dirt track I felt I was meeting the flying doctor, transfer over to the chopper. I heard the words Stoke Manderville mention, then suddenly as like the British weather it change to Colchester, my poor wife missed out on the trip. She got another chance later, when things fitted to me went very badly wrong.
Well, on arrival I was told god you been so good not one word or groan, what did they think? I was not about to give birth? So in to major A&E and then a top specialist told me after he spoke to me and asked how I felt about what I had done, only to be told by me I had no clue as no one had told me what had happen to me. He told the news of the damage and the fact he would not operate as it was far to dangerous.
Then I was whisked off to my ward in which I enter the world of Monty Python, god to read and hear what happen in this hospital is a tonic to any one in a black or foul mood, it was sheer horror show.
So I hope my story does show to all not only disabled but to others who read this wonder paper who are lucky enough to not ever have the problem in the way I have had. Have I lost my smile? never, have I lost my humour? never why because they meaning those who treated me in the first place were paid a kings ransom to look after my good being and welfare, yet they took it upon them selves to make things worse for me, so the best policy to treat that fact is to smile and have twinkle in your eye at all times.