‘I remember seeing blood oozing from the side of my face as I lay there planted on the pavement,’ said Rae Saleem, 48, as he recalled the bike crash which nearly left him a quadriplegic.
‘I was thinking to myself, “I’m going to be late for my gym class, I better get up” and that’s when it dawned on me that I couldn’t move.’
Rae, a former programme manager from Potters Bar, Hertfordshire, had his catastrophic cycling accident on September 12, 2017, which left him with no feeling from the neck down.
Amazingly, after a ‘hallelujah moment’ two months later, where he saw his toes move, Rae finally left his rehabilitation centre on foot in December 2017.
But the dad of three didn’t stop at walking and he now raises money for the NHS with physical challenges such as ultra-marathon, as ‘a way to say thank you’.
It was back in April 2017 that Rae bought his bike through a bike to work scheme in order to start exercising because he was overweight.
He said: ‘I was in my early 40s and wearing a XXXL. It got me thinking about my dad. He was overweight and had a heart attack in his 50s. I didn’t want the same kind of lifestyle so I started thinking about exercise and fitness.
‘Because I was over 100kg, the only bike that was suitable for me was a solid 15kg mountain bike so I got it and put it in the shed.
‘I wasn’t using it and lots of things were collecting on top of it so I said in August or September that I would start using it to get to the gym near my house.’
It was on his way to the gym that disaster struck and Rae hit the kerb. The impact threw him from his bike and he landed face first on the concrete pavement with his bodyweight on his neck.
A neighbour, who was also a nurse, saw Rae as she walked down the street and phoned an ambulance.
‘I begged her to move me because the pain from my weight on my neck was agony and I had pins and needles,’ said Rae.
‘Luckily, my neighbour didn’t move me because, while I didn’t know at the time, she recognised the signs that I was paralysed,’ he added.
He had actually suffered a broken nose, fractured skull and cheekbone and a partially severed spinal cord.
Rushed in an ambulance with his wife Shahra, 46, to his local hospital, Rae was transferred to the major trauma unit at the Royal London Hospital.
Once in London, Rae underwent an operation to put a titanium clamp and prosthetic vertebrae in his spinal cord and metal plates into his skull.
Afterwards, he was dealt the blow that he was paralysed from the neck down.
He said: ‘Medics broke the news to me that I was going to be a quadriplegic pretty much for the rest of my life. I probably wasn’t going to be able to walk again.
‘They referred me to a rehabilitation centre to help me prepare for my new life in a wheelchair.’
This news had a huge impact on Rae’s mental health during his stay in hospital and Rae admitted he struggled with depression and said he felt ‘hopeless’ about his life.
‘It was the lowest point of my life. I had suicidal thoughts going through my head. I couldn’t work so we were struggling financially and I felt like a burden,’ he said.
‘My life as I knew it was over.’
The ‘hallelujah moment’ came for Rae unexpectedly six weeks after his accident when he noticed a ‘quiver’ in his toes one day.
Spotting the small movement in his feet, Rae said he became determined to walk again.
‘I asked the nurses if I was seeing things because it seemed like I was seeing an oasis in the desert. The nurses verified that I had movement and it was like a hallelujah moment,’ Rae said.
‘It was such a tiny sign but it gave me the spark to push myself over the following weeks.’
Rae was moved to Stanmore rehab centre, where he was due to stay for the next three months.
With the help of specialists over the course of several weeks, he walked out of the rehabilitation centre after making huge progress.
He added: ‘It was emotional for my family to see my progress and it all took a toll on them.
‘We were struggling financially which was another burden for them to deal with and meant the recovery I was doing was essential because I had other challenges to tackle once I got home.
‘Leaving rehab I walked, albeit with a frame, to the car to go home.
‘Back home, I was totally determined to continue with my fitness and health. I had a new lease of life.
‘It’s like life 2.0 for me and I’ve become so grateful for my independence and my ability to move my body.’
Since recovering from his accident, Rae has started taking on physical challenges to raise money for the NHS and other charities, including WheelPower and Comic Relief.
Thankful for the staff who cared for him, the dad started off running 10km before taking on a 100km bike race. In 2021, Rae completed the London Marathon.
Rae, who lives with his wife and their three children, Yusuf, 18, Zayd, 17, and Ihsaan, 10, said: ‘Raising awareness and money for the NHS gives me a sense of fulfilment and is my way of giving back to a service that helped me in my hour of need.
‘Everybody can do something that makes a big difference and it’s given me a different purpose in life.
‘I don’t take for granted the fact that I am able to move my body and I want to use my ability to move as a way to say thank you and help out the NHS where I can.’
He added: ‘I’ve since done an ultra marathon for the NHS which I still find unbelievable considering that not too long ago I thought I’d never walk again.
‘Most recently I’ve been supporting NHS Charities Together and their annual NHS Big Tea.
‘For my youngest son’s birthday in July we’re hosting our own tea party to raise money for the NHS.
‘Doing my bit for the NHS gives me just a sense of fulfilment and I just admire the work charities do in general.
‘I am still in touch with some of the nurses that cared for me and I am just forever grateful for how they helped me.’
The NHS Big Tea is a chance for people to host a tea party and raise funds for NHS charities on July 5 – on the day the NHS turns 75.
All funds raised from the NHS Big Tea contribute to key projects supporting the NHS workforce, the long-term recovery of the NHS following Covid and projects improving care for patients and communities.
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