Biker speared by a 4ft spike through his HEAD after crashing into ditch
Incredibly Paul Bradshaw made a miracle recovery – and left doctors dumbfounded when he was discharged from hospital just two days after the accident
A MOTORCYCLIST is lucky to be alive after a horror crash left him with a 4ft spike impaled through his head.
Experienced biker Paul Bradshaw, from Scunthorpe, Lincs, was out riding with the Scunthorpe Bike Club when he crashed into a ditch and impaled himslef on the steel spike on June 8.
He was rushed to hospital by air ambulance, where medics called his family to see him before they operated because they didn't think he'd pull through.
But incredibly, 55-year-old Paul made a miracle recovery – and left doctors dumbfounded when he was discharged from hospital just two days after the accident.
Dad-of-two Paul, a flooring contractor, said: "I've been biking for many, many years.
"I don't remember anything about the crash – all I can remember is being at home sat on my bike, waiting for one of my friends to come, and then I woke up in hospital.
"Around 15 of us went out for a ride, but I don't remember meeting up with anyone or riding anywhere.
"The accident happened after about two-and-a-half hours, but I don't even remember leaving the house.
"James Bell, the rider behind me, said I'd gone round a bend and my brake lights had come on, and then I veered across the road and into a ditch.
"I never even came off my bike – when the air ambulance came I was still sat on it, they say I was conscious but I have no memory of it.
"When I went down into the ditch, there was a steel reinforcement bar like the kind used to put up temporary fences left in the ditch – it came over my right shoulder, into my neck and out the left side of my mouth.
"Doctors told me they don't know how I didn't die – they said I was the unluckiest but luckiest man to be alive."
Astonishingly, Paul suffered no other injuries in the crash and has made a remarkable recovery.
He came round after the four-and-a-half hour surgery with no memory of what happened, and said other than a bit of pain in his mouth he felt absolutely fine.
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He was discharged from hospital less than two days after major surgery, and was back to work two weeks later.
Paul said: "I remember waking up, and being shocked that there was a nurse standing next to me.
"When they started telling me what had happened it sent shivers down my spine – I was gobsmacked.
"I remember making a comment to the nurse that doctors had said I needed more iron in my diet!
"By the time I came round I felt fine – I didn't really have any pain, although my mouth was a bit sore and my teeth were smashed, but other than that and a little bit of bruising I'm fine.
"I was going at quite a slow speed when I crashed, so there's not really much damage to me or to my motorbike.
"It was very touch and go for a while – when I got to hospital they didn't operate immediately because they wanted to wait for my wife Linda and twin daughters to see me first, because they didn't know if I'd pull through.
"The doctors have said every time they look at the X-rays, they can't understand how I'm alive – and not only that, but I walked out of hospital less than two days later.
"Most people are pretty dumbfounded that I got away alive.
"I was told the spike was millimetres away from me dying from asphyxiation or haemorrhaging, or being paralysed from the neck down.
"It's a miracle really – doctors have used that word with me time and time again, and they don't use it lightly.
"For the first six weeks it was difficult to eat – food had to be liquidised and drunk through a straw – but I've made an incredible recovery, and I was even back at work in two weeks."
Despite the terrifying crash, it hasn't put bike-mad Paul off getting back on his motorcycle – much to the exasperation of his wife Linda, 56.
He said: "I was back on my bike about four or five weeks after the accident.
"It didn't scare me, because I can't remember the accident happening.
"I had to get back on to see if it brought back any memories – which it didn't.
"But it just felt so natural.
"Linda didn't like me riding again – she's getting better as time goes on, but she still gets nervous.
"I'm just so lucky to be here, it's pure good luck that I didn't die – and I'm so grateful to the emergency services, the hospital and everyone that stopped to help me."
Mr Stephen Austin, Maxillofacial Clinical Fellow at Leeds Teaching Hospitals, operated on Paul.
He said: "Mr Bradshaw sustained what could easily have been a fatal injury.
"The metal pole embedded in his neck had passed through the tissues like a javelin, and was only millimetres from damaging his airway, major blood vessels and spinal cord.
"Such injuries are often catastrophic, resulting in asphyxiation, major haemorrhage or paralysis from the neck down.
"The whole team in Leeds, in particular his consultant surgeon Gillon Fabbroni, are delighted for Mr Bradshaw and we send him our very best wishes."
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