Very sadly on 9th of February 2020, James Thompson (aged 22) had a freak skiing accident in Austria where he broke his neck (C4 & C5). James was a very experienced and competent skier before he sustained his life changing injury. He was immediately taken by helicopter to a specialist hospital and was operated on within hours to stabilize his neck. The care he was given was of the highest standard.

After a week in intensive care in Austria, James was transferred by air ambulance to 'Wessex Neurological Intensive Care Unit' in Southampton Hospital. After all James' hard work, he came off a ventilator after 4 weeks which showed his strength and determination, much to the delight of the consultants on the unit.

On 23rd of March 2020 James was deemed medically stable to be transferred to the 'Duke of Cornwall Spinal Injury Unit' where he started his rehabilitation.

Because of the nature of his injury, he has limited movement in his arms. He is able to move his shoulders and elbows, but has no movement below, which means that he is unable to move his wrist or hands. He has some sitting balance but no active movement in his legs. This means that he is dependant on using a wheelchair for mobility.

James has worked hard to strengthen up the very limited movement that he has got in his arms, and has used equipment such as a hand bike to help him strengthen them. This has enabled him to self propel a wheelchair despite the lack of movement in his wrists and hands.

The reason why we are asking for help for funding is that James has found this equipment useful to aid with strengthening the movement he has in his arms, and the leg bike will maintain his joint range of movement and decrease the uncomfortable muscle spasms he is experiencing. It will also help with circulation in his legs reducing the risk of developing a DVT.

Living on a small Island like Jersey, Access to specialist equipment is very limited. This equipment can be used as alongside his inpatient and ongoing rehab once he comes back home. The hand and leg bike is a single piece of equipment which he can use whilst sitting in his wheelchair. This equipment also directly stimulates the leg muscles which are not actively working.

As you can imagine sustaining such an injury at any age is life changing, but to be as young as 22, we want to give James the best possible chance of recovery. He has worked so hard to get to this point. Please help us to help him on the next stage of his journey.

Thank you for taking the time to read this.