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A cancer survivor fears he may remain paralyzed for life after slipping on an icy sidewalk.
Neil Tracey, 59, slipped over an icy, raised slab as he walked home from the bar after watching England lose 2-1 to France at the World Cup on December 10.
With his hands in his pockets for warmth, Neil couldn’t catch his fall and slammed his head, leaving him unconscious, his son said.
When Neil woke up, he couldn’t reach his phone, talk, or move his arms or legs. He says he thought he was going to lie there and freeze to death.
Luckily, a neighbor found Neil and called the emergency services while waiting for the ambulance to arrive, while giving him blankets to warm up.
Neil was taken to Northern General Hospital in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, where he was diagnosed with a compressed spinal cord.
He still can’t move his legs and can only whisper.
Doctors fear that her 27-year-old son, Joel Tracey, may remain paralyzed for the rest of her life, a possibility she’s afraid to consider.
“It’s not great, nobody wants to see their dad like that.
“He’s a totally active guy, always up and working six days a week.
“So he’s gone from doing everything to not even going to his phone, and that’s pretty hard to see.
“When I first went to visit him, he couldn’t move and had only very little emotion in his fingers.
“That’s it, and he was put to bed quite sorry for himself, and he didn’t look great.”
Doctors said one’s grandfather would stay in the hospital for at least three more months, and it would take another year for him to fully recover if he wasn’t paralyzed.
This means that Neil, who survived prostate cancer a few years ago, may not be able to return to work as a self-employed mechanic and may also need a mobility scooter.
His family is now raising money to help with bills and other equipment he may need in the future.
Son Joel said: “When he’s out of work, he has no income and has loads of bills.
“If it’s not going to work for the best part of 18 months, it’s not going to be in good shape financially.
“We don’t even know if he’ll be back in business after 18 months, but I hope so.
“I would love to go and see him jump out of bed tonight, but frankly, I know that’s not going to happen.
“If he was back to work in three months then I would love to, but I never see that.
“But basically, we want to help him pay for his expenses, and if he needs a scooter to get around, at least he has money in the bank, then he can spend it on that.”
