Doncaster dad who suffered compressed spinal cord after slipping on ice facing months of rehabilitation

The Doncaster dad-of-two was on his way back from watching England lose 2-1 to France in the World Cup quarter-final in the pub on Saturday, December 10 when the accident took place.

Neil’s niece, Rachael Selby, has described how Neil tripped over a slightly-raised slab before slipping on the ice, which caused him to tumble with nothing to catch his fall because he had put his hands in his pockets due to the cold weather.

"He hit his head...and said that he couldn’t speak, he couldn’t move his arms and legs, he couldn’t get his phone out to call for help. It was that cold that he thought he was going to lie there and freeze to death,” Rachael said.

Thankfully, a passing neighbour came to his aid around an hour later, called the emergency services and provided the 59-year-old with blankets and duvets to warm him up while he waited for an ambulance to arrive. Neil was subsequently rushed to Sheffield’s Northern General Hospital, where he remains over a week later.

Rachael says Neil is still unable to move his legs, and while Neil now has some movement in the top half of his body, he is still unable to grip or hold onto things. Neil is now able to speak at a whisper, but cannot shout or call out, added Rachael.

Neil is facing at least three months of treatment in a rehabilitation unit at Northern General, and commenting on the prognosis provided by medics, Rachael added: “They won’t really be able to tell [the true extent of the damage caused by the accident] for 12 to 18 months but they don’t think he will be able to go back to normal.”

He lives in Balby, Doncaster and his two sons, Joel and Lewis, along with several other family members including his elderly parents, have been coming back and forth to visit him in Sheffield.

Neil is a self-employed mechanic with his own garage in Doncaster, and Rachael says she is concerned about how Neil’s finances will be affected while he is in the rehabilitation unit.

She has set up a fundraising page on GoFundMe and is hoping to raise some money for Neil.

"He does everything for everyone. If a young mum came in and was skint with her car, he would just fix it for whatever she had. He’s fixed lots of things for free too. He’s just done that much for other people that I wanted to do something for him, and we don’t know if he’s going to need equipment or what...It would be nice if he had a bit of money, where he doesn’t have to ask and can just dip in and out of it when he needs to.”

Rachael adds that Neil’s accident comes after a difficult few months, during which Neil has undergone treatment for prostate cancer and his dog has sadly died.

To contribute to the fundraising appeal for Neil, please click here.