A Norfolk man who escaped paralysis after falling through a hole in his ceiling said he cannot imagine how different his life would have been without the work of "extraordinary" NHS staff.
George Bell has been able to resume walking 5km at a "good pace" and is back to riding his horse Vincent for an hour seven months after suffering major and several minor fractures to his pelvis, a dislocated hip and a fractured vertebra at chest level.
The day was Friday, November 13 2020 when Mr Bell fell through a hole in the first floor of his home at Erpingham, near North Walsham, while preparing an opening to fit a lift, and landed 3m below on his back.
His wife Jane called an ambulance and paramedics spent two hours stabilising the 73-year-old before moving him onto a backboard.
He said: "If the ambulance team had not taken the care that they did – and they didn’t know about the seriousness of the spine injury - I would almost certainly have been paralysed from the chest down."
Mr Bell has no memory of the 24 hours following his accident where he was admitted to ITU at the Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital.
During an operation on November 14, NNUH orthopaedic and spine teams had to screw his pelvis together, replace his hip and insert two titanium rods in his back.
Mr Bell said: "At the end of the operation I was stable and have remained so ever since."
As staff worked to help him regain mobility moving using a walking frame and crutches, Mr Bell faced a set back after being discharged home on December 4, following a negative Covid test.
Taken up to bed in the newly installed lift, the couple received a call on December 5 saying the Covid test he had before leaving hospital had come back positive and the couple self isolated.
Mr Bell said: "Jane’s symptoms were fortunately minor but in my weakened state I went downhill quite fast."
He was taken to A&E and admitted to the coronary care unit, where he was given oxygen and dexamethasone. He was discharged on December 18.
He said: "During my adventure I met some extraordinary people wholly committed to doing their best for their patients.
"During my times in hospital the Covid pandemic was raging ahead. Towards the end of my stay it was clear that ward people were feeling the pressure but that didn’t stop anyone doing a proper professional job.
"I can’t really bring myself to think about how different my life would be if the teams who looked after me hadn’t done their best work."
Mr Bell also urged people to remember the pressure on NHS staff was not reducing.
He added: "There is a massive weight of backlogged cases hanging over them which will take years to sort out. I cannot imagine how that must feel."
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