TV presenter Matthew Bassett shows life goes on with spinal injury

A travel to the formation 11 years agone changed Matthew Bassett's beingness forever. Now a TV presenter, helium is determined to amusement beingness does not halt aft a spinal cord injury.

It started similar immoderate different time but it became 1 I would ne'er forget.

I was 19 and I retrieve the prima was retired erstwhile I arrived astatine the beauteous seaside municipality of Broad Haven successful Pembrokeshire connected Friday, 13 May 2011. The oversea looked gloriously inviting.

Swim shorts on, shoes off. I ran down the beach, dived and deed my caput connected a sandbank.

The chaos that followed was unforgettable.

Panic rushed done my assemblage arsenic I realised I couldn't determination my arms and legs and I was successful information of drowning.

It's staggering however agelong a idiosyncratic tin clasp their breath, knowing that beingness could beryllium taken distant with 1 much crashing wave.

I prayed, thought astir my family, and exhaled.

Peace replaced fear, the waves became calm, and I closed my eyes.

As you tin archer by speechmaking this, you cognize I was saved.

That archetypal enactment retired of the oversea was the sweetest, astir life-affirming enactment of oxygen.

By that time, I retrieve a important gathering of nosey radical trying to find retired what had happened connected the usually peaceful beach.

After being pulled from the sea, it was decided that an aerial ambulance would beryllium my champion mode backmost to a hospital.

It was my archetypal clip successful a helicopter, and each I saw were the rotor blades supra my head, they were mesmerising and astir sent maine to sleep.

However, the paramedic wouldn't fto maine drift off.

"Keep talking to me, Matthew," was refreshing to perceive really - I usually get told to beryllium quiet.

After 20 minutes, we arrived astatine University Hospital of Wales, successful Cardiff.

My mum met maine arsenic I entered A&E. I can't ideate however she felt erstwhile a doc explained that I'd got a suspected breached neck.

I don't callback overmuch of that evening, a premix of beeps, buzzers and nurses telling maine it would beryllium alright.

After assorted scans, my cervix was enactment into a rigid collar. Tape was besides enactment implicit my forehead and stuck to the furniture to forestall maine from doing further harm by moving.

A doc past came, and broke the quality that I had fractured a bony successful my cervix and would necessitate an operation. An wounded that precocious tin often impact each 4 limbs, called tetraplegia.

There would beryllium a precocious accidental that I would ne'er locomotion again.

I can't callback however I felt proceeding that, and aft each the commotion of the day, it didn't deed maine until days after.

The adjacent time I was booked successful for an aboriginal greeting assignment successful theatre to hole maine up.

After a mates of weeks of recovery, I was transferred to Rookwood Hospital's spinal rehab portion successful Llandaff, Cardiff, to larn however to unrecorded again arsenic a idiosyncratic with nary question successful my legs, uncontrollable bowels and a catheter.

A nasty unit sore kept maine successful furniture for 3 months. During that time, I watched thousands of location renovations connected TV's Homes Under the Hammer.

Getting up into a wheelchair was the adjacent challenge.

Goals were acceptable each month, to spot maine done to being discharged. Things specified arsenic getting into a car and getting successful and retired of bed.

Finally, aft 10 months of hard work, it was clip to spell home. Strangely, not the aforesaid location I near connected Friday, 13 May, but determination new.

It felt weird going to a caller property, but astatine the aforesaid time, it was a caller start.

The location successful Pencoed, Bridgend, had to person a mates of adaptations: A ramp to the beforehand door, an automatic cardinal fob fancy doorway and a bedewed room.

I missed the hospital. It was excessively quiescent astatine home, with nary beeps, nary large snoring, nary regular beverage served and nary all-day attention. Being astatine location was erstwhile the existent rehab started, and it was hard.

Life felt large erstwhile I was with friends and family, but portion it backmost to erstwhile cipher was around, and I honestly couldn't enactment retired however to execute a afloat life.

However, being fixed much attraction hours to person a idiosyncratic adjunct with maine gave maine much clip to signifier beingness skills that would assistance independence.

Things specified arsenic emptying my catheter container meant I would beryllium capable to popular retired and astir connected my ain and person a fewer beers without needing to inquire anyone for assistance.

Sometimes it takes 1 affirmative boost to beryllium a catalyst for change. For me, independently going to the loo was conscionable that.

"Life doesn't halt aft a spinal cord injury" is simply a punctuation that has been drilled into maine ever since my accident. Understanding that took a while.

But erstwhile I got my caput into gear, I taught myself to get into bed, travelled independently connected trains and started flying again.

In 2014, I was offered a occupation arsenic an autarkic surviving advisor connected the aforesaid spinal ward I was treated on. I was perfectly delighted.

Nine years on, I inactive enactment determination and proceed to chat to the patients astir beingness aft injury.

It's a occupation I cherish and instrumentality seriously, arsenic I cognize however important it is to spot and perceive that determination is simply a fulfilling beingness aft injury.

Yes, beingness looks antithetic and tin beryllium hard astatine times, but connected the flip side, it tin besides bring the astir unexpected and beauteous surprises.

When I was a patient, I met a gorgeous pupil caregiver called Amanda who had the champion hairsbreadth washing method ever.

Whenever she was connected shift, I would inquire to person a hairsbreadth scrub and person a small speech with her.

Sadly, erstwhile her placement was over, I didn't spot her for a fewer years, past successful 2017, we bumped into each different and went for a fewer Christmas drinks.

We haven't stopped seeing each different since.

We fell successful love, and got joined successful April 2021. She was the astir beauteous bride connected the astir beauteous day.

Since my accident, I decided to accidental yes to immoderate accidental that came my way, thing that has seen maine go a TV presenter connected BBC Wales' Weatherman Walking.

I consciousness truthful fortunate to question astir Wales making large small films showcasing that it doesn't substance if you request a wheelchair to get around, you tin inactive person an adventure.

My communicative could've easy ended connected the time I had my accident, but it didn't. It was, however, the commencement of a caller chapter.

Whatever you're going through, drawback each peculiar infinitesimal you can.

Understand that hard times come, but they're not present to enactment and spot a agleam aboriginal ahead.