Mr Robin Bhatia 2018-01-19 Person 5 5 0

In October 2017, I was a 74 year old passenger in a car accident and broke my neck at the 5th and 6th vertebrae. When I arrived at Swindon hospital I was completely paralysed below the neck and they chose to move me to the John Radcliffe where Mr Robin Bhatia (who alternates between the two hospitals) was the on-call surgeon. He made it perfectly clear that surgery was necessary to relieve the pressure on my spinal chord and that there was a remote chance of recovery. He operated all night (6-7 hours), taking the opportunity to operate through the front and rear of my neck in a two phased operation which, I understand, might only have included the first phase had I not been strong enough. Following the operation my children were informed honestly that I should recover some movement in my arm but they should not hope for more. However the operation was such a success (in part I understand due to the immediate surgery) that over the coming days I recovered movement in all limbs and was removed from ventilation. Just two months later I can walk without assistance and have movement in both arms with some limitations. I am so grateful to Mr Bhatia who quite evidently performed excellent surgery and laid the foundation for me to work toward recovering my mobility through physio and hard work.