A MAN who was left paralysed after a life-changing motorbike crash is now the coach of a winning basketball team ten years later.
Danny Ewin, from Low Hesket, was only 16 years old when he was involved in a collision with a car between Culgaith and Langwathby in 2012.
Recalling the incident, he said: “I don’t remember a lot from it to be honest. The last thing I remember is I left my great nana’s from Culgaith and then I was heading back towards Carlisle way, and somehow hit a car head on. The next thing I remember is waking up in hospital.”
Paul Burnage, a paramedic at the Great North Air Ambulance Service (GNAAS), was just coming off duty and was the only medic at the charity’s Langwathby base when the crash happened.
He attended the scene and requested the aircraft from GNAAS’ Teesside base, which airlifted Danny to the Royal Victoria Infirmary (RVI) in Newcastle.
Danny’s grandmother Gail Ewin said: “Paul was just leaving, luckily for Danny. He got him to Newcastle and said if he’d gone by road he would have been dead.”
Danny said: “I broke my back in four places, completely crushed two of the bones so they’ve been taken out and I’ve got a metal cage there. I’ve got bars and pins up my spine, broke my ribs, smashed my left wrist, broke my right wrist, a bleed behind my heart, concussion, collapsed lungs, a head injury and severed my spinal cord twice.”
Gail added: “When me and his mam went in to see the consultants, they said he’d severed his spinal cord twice and he’d never walk again which was a massive shock.”
Despite the setbacks from his injuries, Danny has achieved a lot in the ten years since the crash.
He said: “It was difficult coming to terms with my injuries but with the support of my loving mother, she made me look at the bigger picture and look at everybody else around me with worse injuries who would happily swap places with me.”
After spending three months in the RVI and seven months at James Cook University Hospital in Middlesbrough, he lived with his grandmother for a year while an extension was built at his mother’s house to accommodate his needs.
He went back to college to study engineering and is now a level two engineer. He was also nominated for adult learner of the year and came first at an engineering trade competition between all of the colleges in Cumbria.
In addition to this, he gained coaching qualifications for wheelchair basketball and boccia and has been involved in banger racing.
He said: “I run a boccia session on a Wednesday night in Carlisle for all different ages and disabilities and hopefully going to try and set up a league for that.
“I’ve been to the national play-offs just about every year that I’ve played basketball.
“We’ve always positioned in the top three, and we won last year.
“I think nine years now I’ve been there and still going and now I’m the coach so I must enjoy it.”
Even before Danny’s incident, his grandmother Gail, who is rep for Cumbria Goldwing motorcycle group, was a supporter of GNAAS and understood the importance of the charity.
She said: “Every year, usually a bank holiday Monday in May, we raise money for the air ambulance.
“It’s just a group of friends with Honda Goldwing motorbikes that get together in Keswick.
“We were doing it before Danny’s accident because sadly a lot of bikers are caught in road accidents and if not airlifted sometimes they don’t make it. Then with Danny’s accident, and Paul saying that if he hadn’t got to Newcastle in 17 minutes he would have been dead, it brings it home to you.”
Danny added: “If it wasn’t for the air ambulance I wouldn’t be here today.”
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