"I ran in for a tackle and felt my neck snap"

Luke Orton was competing in an Isle of Wight rugby tournament when his life changed forever in July 2023. “I went in for a tackle and heard my neck snap,” he reported at the time. “What seemed to me like eating crackers or Weetabix turned out to be me tackling someone’s knee, leaving them paralysed on a beach. “He is among several patients receiving specialist rehabilitation at Salisbury Hospital’s Spinal Treatment Centre. To mark their 40th anniversary, BBC South spent six months spending time with staff and patients alike at this unit – here are their stories.” Rox Wilson from Sherborne in Dorset was watching Elton John at Glastonbury last year when suddenly, crowd members surged around her and knocked her over, knocking her over into another crowd member and knocking over an elderly lady nearby who required surgery on a disc crushing their spinal cord. “One wrong step could have severed my cord,” Roxy explained. When they attempted to extract her disc, all the flow of blood, oxygen and nerve signals stunned her nerves resulting in paralysis and she ended up paralysed as a result of being paralysed herself. “Roxy required surgery following her fall at Glastonbury. Within four months on our unit, Roxy was able to stand with support allowing her to no longer rely on using a wheelchair as frequently. Roxy decided that now was the time for change: she told staff and patients of her intention to leave hospital and “walk out with confidence, with confidence of walking out,” no doubt of that happening at five months post accident. When Roxy stood up she beamed with pride – “All of a sudden it feels like I am 10ft tall not 5ft 8in,” according to Roxy. “My emotions run the gamut – from anxiety and regret over leaving so soon to missing someone so dearly. Roxy Wilson suffered a spinal injury after she was knocked over during Glastonbury. While teams at the unit work to help people rehabilitate from spinal injuries, not everyone recovers their ability to walk again. Consultant Chalil Vinod explained: “Patients often assume physiotherapy will allow them to get up again, which I work tirelessly against – dispelling this myth is my goal!” “During a traumatic spinal injury, even when the boney portions have been fixed – that is to say the bony portion has been secured – one must remember there’s also an inner nervous component whose damage cannot be reversed.” “To help individuals cope with the life-altering outcomes of spinal injuries, mental resilience support is provided alongside physical rehabilitation. Dr Nigel North, clinical psychologist said “You cannot take away hope. “To give someone hope when all seems lost would be cruel indeed, so healing journeys for some often involve grieving the loss of what was once their lives before spinal injuries occurred. “Mourning what has passed is futile; everything was fuzzy before.” Fearghas Powell lamented: “I sometimes moan about life being unsettling when all I want is my old way back again. “While removing dead branches from a tree in Yelverton, Dartmoor in August 2023, he fell 46ft (14m). As soon as he heard a “click or clunk”, his feet hit the floor. Immediately thereafter, his wife noticed him unconscious on her bed.” “Initially I didn’t feel any discomfort; everything just became fuzzy. “My initial estimate suggests I fell from about 14m (45.9ft), making the distance equivalent to more than two-storey homes.” Tree surgeon Fearghas Powell fell 46ft (14m). Fearghas’ rehabilitation focused mainly on upper body movement and strength training; some sensation was still felt below his waist but leg use below the knee was severely limited; after one year had past from his accident site in Plymouth Devon he mustered up enough courage to return there where his accident had taken place and gaze at where it had happened again – gazing upon its branches again with sober eyes while recalling all he’d gone through since that fateful morning when it all became too much but now I feel quite sick.” “My life has completely altered since falling under that tree.” “‘Push Forward’After his rugby accident, Luke from Ventnor on Isle of Wight requires regular physiotherapy sessions to regain function of his arms and wrists. Although initially told he may only retain use of his biceps, Luke is gradually developing strength in all three. Although he will never regain use of his legs again, Luke remains determined to live life to its fullest. “Sitting there and thinking ‘Oh no! I have lost both legs for life! ‘, is not going to help,” he stated. Instead, one should “push forward”, continuing life the way you did before but with differences; at the end of it all they are still the same person.” Luke became paralysed while playing rugby; the impacts of spinal injury go well beyond physical rehabilitation and are profound. Annamarie broke three vertebrae in her spine after falling down some stairs, losing sensation from the chest down; during this period at the spinal unit her teenage daughter moved in with her grandmother while Annamarie’s father passed away.” “It can be really overwhelming and isolating when you can’t be there for your family – which makes everything quite hard,” Annamarie lamented after suffering a spinal injury which initially rendered her without feeling below her chest. However, eighteen months after the accident Annamarie has made remarkable improvements – she can walk with assistance, relocated closer to family in Romsey Hampshire but struggles to locate suitable accommodation to return with her daughter again. Caroline Burson from Alresford in Hampshire was on holiday last summer when her arm “go[es] completely dead”, she says. While waiting with her partner for a taxi to transport them both to hospital, by the time it came, Caroline was “paralysed from my neck down”, according to Caroline herself. At first doctors thought sunstroke might have been involved but after further examination via an MRI scan MRI proved otherwise and an air ambulance flew her back home; Caroline had suffered a spinal stroke. Caroline Burson experienced a spinal stroke on holiday in Cyprus due to a blood clot blocking its circulation; during her treatment at our unit she progressed from supported walking towards independent mobility. “I was told there would be no recovery,” she recounts, but that did not deter her from standing unaided, to which her response was simply amazing: she declared when she arrived that she intended on walking out – which she has done and with great pride eight months post spinal stroke she now leaves the unit using only a walking stick!