SPINAL
Life SCOTLAND
TONY’S STORY You’ll probably hear Tony Kane before you see him. He’s the vibrant Spinal Injuries Scotland volunteer whose arrival usually precedes laughter from patients and staff at the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital’s spinal unit. But how does a man who can’t walk keep his spirits, and the spirits of others, so high?
Here, the 35-year-old from Wishaw, Lanarkshire shares his backstory, and the secret to winning at life after a spinal cord injury. In 2005, Tony was driving a fully-loaded dumper truck around a building site. While manoeuvring the machine it suddenly plunged forwards over a blind ledge. The labourer, who was strapped into his seat, tumbled down the ledge until the force of the six-tonne truck rolled on top of him and broke his neck. Opening up about his life-changing workplace injury, Tony “just knew” he’d never walk again. “I remember arguing with my pal at the time”, he said. “I kept telling him it felt like my legs were above my head and he said ‘What are you on about, they’re where they should be - you’ll be fine’. But it was in that moment I just knew I’d never walk again.” Tony was right.
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