A split second changed Tony’s life when he collapsed at the top of his stairs and fell down headfirst, breaking his neck. Blue lighted to Royal Stoke Hospital, he underwent a seven-hour operation and was put into an induced coma for three weeks. When he came round, it was to a new reality as a full-time wheelchair user.
When he was discharged from hospital on 23rd December 2022, Tony struggled due to a complete lack of specialist community rehabilitation services. He was given access to his local gym but as a new wheelchair user still getting used to what he could and couldn’t do, Tony simply didn’t find this accessible or helpful.
“I was astonished how poorly supported people with a spinal cord injury are once out of hospital,” says Tony. “There is just nothing available: you suddenly drop off the radar and are left to your own devices to find what you can for yourself.”
Tony’s wife Janine set out to find some support for him and that was how Tony came to join us here at Neurokinex in Bristol.
“I wanted to regain simple skills like eating with a knife and fork and drinking out of a cup,” says Tony. These were tricky to master as Tony’s left hand was permanently in a fist and his right hand permanently open. But they persevered. One session was spent almost entirely on using stabbing movements with his arms and hands which Tony later found out to his delight enabled him to use a fork unaided. “It was lunchtime at Neurokinex and they sent out for chips which I was able to eat on my own. It was a delicious moment in more ways than one being able to manage without anyone’s help,” says Tony.
It’s this personalisation and understanding that Tony values so greatly at Neurokinex: “they truly listen to what you want and how you feel: we have a great relationship and I find them hugely motivational and supportive without ever being condescending. It’s rare you get that in people.”
A blessing for Tony was retaining his job post-injury. As the co-founder and director of a home delivery company covering the sales department, he works from home and offers support to colleagues by phone. As this isn’t full time, he has branched out to deliver motivational talks to businesses and charities.
Giving people an insight into his new reality, Tony hopes to build their empathy and resilience. He often starts with a challenge asking people to sit on their hands for five minutes and not move for any reason. “You’ll get an itch but you can’t scratch it – that’s not allowed – for five whole minutes,” says Tony. “It seems interminable – but that’s been my life for the past two-and-a-half years! It’s a real eye opener for people”
These talks led Tony to offer mental health coaching which, in turn, has led to him creating his podcast Fliqer to give people a different perspective and context on their own situation and life’s challenges. Born out of the complete change of direction that Tony’s life has taken, Fliqer channels his new-found resilience and purpose after his own life-changing injury to help build a supportive community for others.
