The Accident
Intensive care with the three most important people in my life :)
A wee bit before the accident
Best to get the bad stuff out of the way first. I have been getting progressively fitter since 2001. I remember the date really well. On Boxing day 2001, when Hannah (number 1 child) was only 6 months old I went for my first walk/run when we lived in Liberton Edinburgh. At that stage my only thought was that I needed to get fit and healthy for me, my kids and my quality of life in general. After returning from West Africa in 1998 (more on that later), discovering processed food, working for MacDonald’s after Uni and dabbling with exercise I had found myself overweight and unfit and generally not happy with how I felt in life. With a new baby in the house I decided I needed to turn the situation round as regards my health.
Over the next 17 years I got progressively fitter and healthier through running, cycling and triathlon before completing an Ironman triathlon (2.4-mile swim, 112-mile bike and finishing up with a marathon run) in Copenhagen in 2016. As those of you that take part in races will know, there are always things to work on and an Ironman Race rarely runs smoothly. I had plans to do another one. In the meantime, I took on some more events and completed the very challenging Glen Affric duathlon and the Highland Cross Race in 2018. I was perhaps the fittest I had ever been (which was lucky as you will discover) and was planning to “compete” in the middle-distance Scottish triathlon championships later in 2018 in Aberfeldy. I never made it.
The accident
A week after the Highland Cross I got up in the morning to complete a training ride round the Moray Firth before I took Hannah and a friend down to a music concert in Glasgow that weekend. It was the morning of the 28th of June 2018. A date I’ll never forget even if I can’t actually consciously remember it. I was really busy at work for Scottish Enterprise advising and helping companies applying for European research funding in offshore renewables. So, I was fitting in an early morning ride to keep to the training plan. Scotland is at the forefront of research in the areas of offshore wind, wave and tidal generation given the incredible resource we have around our shores. And Scotland has a world class supply chain of companies and businesses that have expertise in this area following 45 years of operating in offshore in oil and gas. To that end my job was very busy attending conferences across Europe and supporting companies to get involved in projects. With children growing up fast, and making sure I was there for them too, I had a lot to fit in!
I set off for my ride about 0630 on Thursday the 28th of June 2018. I headed off on my standard route around the Moray Firth from my house known as Tour De Firth (TDF). I cycled through Beauly, then Muir of Ord before about a mile out of Muir of Ord on the way to North Kessock a works van, who clearly didn’t see me took me out and left me in a ditch. Thankfully, there were off duty fireman and first responders on the scene (including Paul, the kids Stepdad) before the ambulance turned up and whisked me off to Raigmore to attend to my broken back, neck, pelvic bleed and the various other abrasions on me including my brain injury. I am so grateful to all the people that helped me that day and count myself very lucky they were there to stabilise me etc.
As those of you that know me will probably recognise, I was trying to stand up in complete shock and get moving!! Not particularly wise in the circumstances. As mentioned above I have been told by many health professionals since the accident that my fitness was a major asset in surviving and the recovery I have made so far. The documented injuries were a brain injury (frontal cerebral contusions), broken ribs, a broken back, a broken neck, a collapsed lung and a pelvic bleed. It could have been a lot, lot worse. On the day itself Paul called Emma (my ex-wife) and she called my family, friends, my girlfriend of 3 months Kirsty and my work to let them know what had happened. Aimee and Andrew, the 2 younger kids were away with the school on an activity weekend and were travelling back North. I’m not quite sure they were expecting to end their trip coming to Raigmore to see their Dad in the intensive care unit (ICU). Hannah was at home with her Mum and came into the hospital later to see me. I can’t even imagine what it must have been like for them on the day and the following few months. The support of all three kids and their relentlessly cheery dispositions have been an amazing and integral part of my ongoing recovery. Mum and my sister Fiona arrived in Inverness and were around to see me through the very dark days at the start. Quite literally dark as I was unconscious for the best part of 5 weeks. Initially in a coma and then an induced coma to keep me still with my broken back (I was still desperately trying to move!!) I had a tracheotomy to help my breathing as result of the collapsed lung. On the 16th of July, I was ambulanced to Aberdeen and back to have an operation on my broken back. They initially hoped the back would heal naturally but because I would never stay still this wasn’t happening! I can remember pretty much nothing from this whole period. I have been told by Mum, Fiona and friends like Ewan, Pete and Martin that on occasion I would make comments, roll my eyes or make inappropriate hand gestures;) at points in conversations. If nothing else, it at least ensured they knew it was still me in the body despite the brain injury. And I cannot thank everyone that came to see me whilst in hospital enough.
So there you have the start of the story. What I will try and do over the coming months is outline the journey I have been on towards recovery. The things I have learned. The people that have helped me. And hopefully inspire some hope in whatever situation you find yourself in. There have been many ups and downs along the way…..but thankfully more ups than downs. See you next time.
