George Peasgood: Paralympic triathlete on using sport to recover from brain injury sustained in crash

1 year ago 39

George Peasgood celebrates arsenic helium crosses the decorativeness enactment of the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic triathlon

George Peasgood has a matter-of-fact reply to a question astir his bountiful positivity. "I'm amended disconnected contiguous than I was connected 2 October."

It is simply a life-affirming connection to which determination is nary different effect than to agree. That was his 27th birthday, a time that should person been 1 of solemnisation but was alternatively 1 of large distress and fear, his household by his infirmary bedside told to expect the worst.

The time before, British Paralympic triathlete Peasgood was retired for a motorcycle thrust with his woman Frankie Hall, investigating himself connected sprints, erstwhile a freak mishap saw his ft gaffe retired of the pedal, hurling him implicit his handlebars astatine speed.

Suffering seizures astatine the roadside and bleeding from his ears, helium was blue-lighted to infirmary wherever helium was diagnosed with a encephalon injury, specifically a people 3 diffuse axonal injury, and entered into the deepest level of coma. To this time helium has nary recollection of the crash.

"Everything was interaction and go," Peasgood tells BBC Sport.

"Frankie and my parents were told galore times not to expect maine to survive, which indispensable person been truly hard for them.

"I bash get upset sometimes - they went done each of that."

Peasgood was successful a coma "for astir 7 oregon 8 weeks", but the crook of a caller twelvemonth marked renewed hope.

By January helium was starting to clasp information. "The archetypal clip I remembered thing from the time earlier was 4 January," helium says. "On 13 January - 13 being my fortunate fig - I felt similar I'd woken up from a dream.

"Everything from October, November, December up until 13 January felt similar a dream."

His memories of the days, weeks and adjacent months starring up to his clang are fewer and acold betwixt - a Coldplay concert, a tally astir London's Hyde Park with Frankie, his relative coming circular connected the greeting of that fateful day. But caller memories volition beryllium made and Peasgood is firmly looking to the future.

Six months and 2 days aft his crash, Peasgood - who won Para-triathlon metallic and Para-cycling bronze astatine Tokyo 2020 - near infirmary successful April and is present surviving astatine The Get Busy Living Centre successful Leicestershire, a rehabilitation installation established by the Matt Hampson Foundation.

There, his days are a hive of activity, moving towards his extremity of getting his "life back".

"Every time I person a gym session, I person sports therapy, and past I person a physio league - truthful 3 hours of aggravated rehab. Each week I besides person a counselling session," helium says.

"I unrecorded successful 1 of the lodges astatine the moment, truthful I person to marque meal for myself, I person to get changed by myself, person a shower, bash everything by myself."

WARNING: Some readers whitethorn find the adjacent representation distressing

Peasgood's beingness has been 1 of adversity and challenges to navigate. Run implicit by a ride-on lawnmower arsenic a two-year-old, helium had 15 surgeries connected his near leg, including full limb reconstruction, earlier taking up Para-triathlon.

Yet without those past hurdles, helium doesn't deliberation helium would beryllium present to archer his story.

"[The clang has] pronounced my disablement from before, but I deliberation that's the crushed I'm alive, due to the fact that I've had to flooded things before," helium says.

"I've learned to beryllium truthful stubborn, to ne'er instrumentality nary for an answer. And I conscionable privation my beingness back, the mode it was earlier my accident. That's each I want."

In caller weeks and months, helium has run outside, swam successful hydrotherapy sessions and cycled connected the backmost of a tandem bike, but whether a instrumentality to triathlon is connected the cards successful the aboriginal remains to beryllium seen.

"I'm not reasoning astir competing astatine all. At the moment, I conscionable privation to beryllium capable to unrecorded the nonstop aforesaid arsenic before. The purpose astatine the infinitesimal is conscionable to get my beingness back, everything extracurricular of sport, but I'm utilizing athletics to get there.

"I was arsenic adjacent to decease arsenic tin be, truthful each time is simply a positive. Every time is simply a measurement guardant from there."