No.128
injuries happen very rarely: most of
the time we get away with it; but not
always. I spent four months there in
all, gradually coming to terms with my
situation and learning how to cope.
I was surrounded by disaster stories
much more tragic than my own: a
climber whose rope had been cut by
random rock fall (he’d also lost his
legs above the knee); the cyclist who
at almost 0 mph had fallen sideways
and smashed his spine on the kerb;
the Irish great-great-grandfather who
had inexplicably collapsed while
washing up and broken his neck; the
girl parachute-jumping for charity
whose landing had all gone wrong; the
teacher on holiday whom a car crash
left paralysed from the neck down;
the grandfather pruning a garden
tree who fell on his head and was left
quadriplegic.
The Trusty Servant
With the WinColl sailing team at the RYA National Team Racing Championships,
12/13 Oct 2019, where we came second, a fantastic performance.
I learnt so much from these guys on
the Tamar Ward, and I hope they also
learned something from me. We had
next to nothing in common other
than that we had all joined a very
exclusive spinal injury club, from
which we would all have resigned
immediately if we could. The nurses
were absolutely wonderful, dedicated
in their approach, cheerful in the face
of our disasters, and giving so freely of
themselves. These were unforgettable
people and it was an unforgettable
time. Pip came every day, usually
bringing lunch, which we ate in the
beautiful environment of Horatio’s
garden (built by parents in memory
of their son who was killed by a polar
bear). in a Catch-22 world, where it is never
possible to speak directly with any
decision-makers. On the plus side our
home at 23 Kingsgate Rd (where Alan
and Helen Conn used to live) had no
step up from the pavement nor a step
down into the garden; it also had old-
fashioned wide doors and corridors.
With the stair-lift installed and wet
room fabricated, it was ready to roll.
I came home at the end of October, a
very emotional event. At the assembly,
Tim explained to the boys what had
happened to me, and then invited me
onto the platform. I sang a song that I
had written, complete with the chorus
from ‘Domum’. It went down very
well! And it introduced me back into
our school community.
Towards the end of July, the
Headmaster came to visit me. By this
time I had identified two major goals:
first to return home and second to
return to work. Tim was immediately
supportive, and added a strange
request: that I play my ukulele at the
end-of-term assembly. It gave me a
target. There followed three months
of doing battle with government
agencies and hospital administrators
to put in place all that I needed to
operate at home. I found myself living So now as I write, it’s June: the
daffodils have come and gone, and the
grass is beginning to grow. In Common
Time I taught three JP and MP sets in a
Biology lab converted for Physics (with
transformers replacing microscopes).
Kevin Hill (who some of you will
remember taught Chemistry for
several years, retiring about a decade
ago) volunteered to come and be my
lab assistant, reaching equipment from
the high shelves and doing his best to
work his beloved Chemistry into my
14
lessons. Amber Davenport (Senior
Physics Technician) was ever attentive
helping me get back and forth. And
Sue Jounet (Health and Safety Officer)
did battle with Access to Work, and
won. I’m very grateful to them in
particular but also to the whole school
community for all the support and
encouragement I have received.
There is not much that is positive
to come out of what has happened
to me. But if there is one thing, it
is certainly that we in Britain still
enjoy a proper sense of community,
a desire to help others, and a feeling
of shared purpose and destiny (ideas
that have been almost buried without
trace during the Brexit fiasco). I feel
enormously rejuvenated by the many
acts of kindness from which I have
benefited: the family rallying around,
friends getting in contact after years
of radio silence, people from my past
spontaneously sending money. Finally,
I would like to say a huge and public
thank you to my wife Pip: this episode
has been tragic for her as well as for
me. She has been a rock.
And between us all we will turn it into
a triumph.