| Background to Andrew's story
|
Andrew Penman (now 38) was struck by a car near the Canton Road Bridge in Cardiff in the early
hours of the morning on Sunday, March the 5th 1989. The damage to his body was considerable,
but more seriously he received a massive blow to the right side of his head which left the
doctors at the hospital in Cardiff coming to a conclusion that he probably wouldn’t survive,
and that if he did survive, that he would be massively handicapped and very unlikely
to recover.
Andrew has recovered from a traumatic accident which had initially left him truly brain damaged.
His ‘long and winding road’ has been a story of determination and resolve, but clearly one
of natural healing.
After a ‘night on the town’ and one in which he now happily admits that he had been drinking
far too much, Andrew was hit head on by a car which then ploughed into a nearby bus shelter
taking Andrew with it. To this day, Andrew has no bad words for the driver who had tried
to avoid hitting him. Andrew had in fact attempted to run back to the pavement, only to be
hit by the vehicle which had swerved in order to avoid him. Today, Andrew looks back and
says that his life was in tatters and freely admits that he used to drink far to much and also
take, more or less, any drugs that were offered to him.
He was a ‘soft touch’, and in his own words, ‘easily led’ to the demon drink!
His current lifestyle could not be more radically different than the former. An active
member of the local community, Andrew is involved in Aikido, Tai Chi and Chi-Kung the three
non aggressive martial arts which have helped (with a wide range of healing
techniques) to get well once again.
Andrew is determined that his recovery will be 100 per cent, and it is not difficult to
imagine that this will be the case, having spent time talking to him about his healing
experiences to date.
After the accident, Andrew was completely unconscious for four and a half weeks, and seriously
injured. After weeks of intensive care and the reduction of massive bruising, broken
ribs and brain damage, he was left paralysed, unable to see, and unable to speak or
recognise anyone.
As a youngster, Andrew loved sport, in particular rugby and played centre, initially for
Llandaff Rugby Club and later on for that infamous Rugby outfit the Cardiff C.Y.A.C.S.
In his working life Andrew was a builder/brick layer, a strong young man who depended on his
excellent co - ordinative skills to help him both work and play.
Prior to his accident however, and in his own words Andrew admits that his life was on the way
down. ‘I was into drugs and booze in a big way......I had a flat in Cathedral Road,
and I used to spend most of my time in city centre pubs drinking with my mates......I really
had no direction in life.’
Incredibly, he feels that the accident has actually done him a massive favour....by giving him
something to focus on, something to overcome.
He still likes his Rugby.....watching these days, and of course he never misses an international,
but prefers the comfort of his own flat. The days of booze and drugs are long gone.
Once unable to walk or speak....Andrew can now ‘walk for miles’, (unless he’s fasting.....part
of a weekly cycle of health and exercises) and as the writer can testify......he can talk
the hind leg off a donkey!
He puts his remarkable progress down to determination and a Buddhist spiritual faith backed
up by his regular disciplines of aikido and tai chi which he openly reports as being
‘therapeutic to the brain’.
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Andrew's mother's diary
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Perhaps the best place to start his story is in March 1989 in the daily diary of his mum
who nursed him through the early days.
The following extracts are quoted from his mum’s own words.
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Friday March 3rd
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Came back from Tenerife. Had a wonderful holiday.
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Sunday March 5th
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Traffic Police called 4 a.m.. Andrew has had an accident at 3 a.m.
Extensive head injuries, went to C.R.I. (Cardiff Royal Infirmary Hospital), then to the Heath Hospital for scan and then back to the intensive trauma unit. They haven’t given much hope for him. We are all in a state of shock. Stayed at Hospital all night with Karen.
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| March 7th Tuesday
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Stayed through the night with the twins. Slept for a few hours, then went back.
Heart and lungs have withstood the trauma, the first 36 hours are the worst they say.
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| March 9th Thursday
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Stayed the night. Tonight (he) seemed very agitated and coughing a lot, has chest infection. On ventilator, but breathing some himself. I'm very worried, his seems to be a crisis point. This is the worst so far.
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| March 13th Monday * (Andrew has now been moved to Llandough hospital)
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Andrew seems to be calmer here, probably the shock leaving his body. Has physio a few times a day for his chest.
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| March 14th Tuesday
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Andrew stable. Julie(sister) went back to work today after being home a fortnight, she needs company and change of scene.
Tracheotomy tonight
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| March 15th Wednesday
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Andrew having great care and attention from the staff at Llandough
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| March 17th Thursday
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We sit here for hours just talking to Andrew hoping he can hear us.
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"hugely trying..."
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These days were clearly 'hugely trying' for the whole family, and as these statements show,
it wasn't only Andrew who was traumatised. Doctors told him many months later, that he
wouldn't have survived the sheer shock of the impact of being hit by the car if he hadn't
been so intoxicated.
These days he laughs at some of the terrible states he used to get
into, thanks to drink and drugs. As a youngster he remembers being very impressionable
and easily led.
Today Andrew is focused on other issues..........perhaps mostly the simple issue of living
healthily and enjoying the martial arts disciplines which have contributed so markedly
to his recovery.
He feels an emerging ambition to be involved in healing in some way, and it is his hope
that this site will not only inspire others who have suffered from head injuries, trauma
and shock, but indeed that it might benefit anyone who has experienced a long term medical
condition which can benefit from , prayer, meditation and natural healing.
It is felt that extracts from Andrew’s diaries will do the best job of communicating this side
of the story, although some additional comment from articles published in the South Wales press will also be encountered by the reader in the course of this text.
Looking at a few more entries from his mum’s diaries we can see that recovery was an slow
process and not without it’s worries in the early days.
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Andrew's mother's diary
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| March 21st 1989
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Dr. Davies (Neurologist) has told me that Andrew won’t see or speak for a long time and he’ll be a semi invalid.
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| March 23rd
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(I go to) hospital twice a day. Andrew still can’t see or speak.......paralysed on the left hand side.
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| March 25th
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Andrew’s eyes are open, but still rolling........
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| March 29
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Moves his right leg......stares in front.............head slumps forward
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| March 31st
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(Still) no recognition of anyone
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| April 2nd
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Andrew has lots of visitors.....his friends and cousins talk to him constantly
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| April 3rd
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Andrew responds to us by squeezing our hands sometimes........he sat in chair for one hour today
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| April 8th
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Andrew is awake, but cannot communicate. No sign of speech or understanding ......obeys simple commands.
No control over bowels or urine
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| April 11th
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He is eating food well on his own ......eats like a robot.
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| April 18th
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Nods his head for ‘yes’
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| April 19th
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Sat him in the wheelchair. Linda and I walked round for a while, but he gets very confused.....only two visitors allowed at the moment.
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| April 25th
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Andrew has a full day in physio, occupational therapy and speech therapy. He eats everything he’s given......does n’t know what he’s eating.
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| April 28th
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Andrew looks so bewildered and lost..........very aggressive today with me,Julie and Paul
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| May 8th
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I (mother) went back to work today after being off for nine weeks
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| May 11th
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Saw doctor today. Doctor says that he has major head injuries.....didn’t give much hope of recovery
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| May 16th
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Every day much the same, slight improvement all the time
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| May 21st
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Threw his dinner at me in temper..........head all mixed up
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| June 3rd
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Andrew home for the weekend........went to Sully with Karen
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| June 5th
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Went down to the beach in his wheelchair...gets very tired
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| June 11th
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Sleeping downstairs.......still has no urine control .....I have to change him in the night and his sheets
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| June 19th
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He watches T.V. For a short while, but his eyesight is not too good...........strength has not come back yet, he’ll probably have glasses..........
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| July 18th
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Andrew now recognises friends and family.....thinks he’s broken his legs and arm and will soon be up and about............but it is going to take a few years...
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| July 20th
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Saw Doctor today......Andrew will be coming home for good in August.......................
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| August 3rd
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Everything ready for Andrew’s homecoming, but he will be going back and fore to Rookwood for assessment. Also, he will be going to physio at the Infirmary for six months.
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| August 4th
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Andrew came home today. Still in wheelchair, but can stand to go to toilet, but has to be helped to walk.
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Commitment...
self help and Healing...
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We are now five months down the line and Andrew is still struggling, with coordination, balance
etc., but he’s already shown an aptitude and commitment to his physiotherapy programme which
was going to serve him well in his own programme of self help and healing which would begin
in ernest a year or so later.
(In the longer term Andrew would like to publish his improvement programme in full, feeling
sure that the details will help others. In the meanwhile these chosen extracts from ten years
of diary keeping will hopefully suffice.)
Let’s fast forward then and take a look at some extracts from his diary as he progresses.
But before we do that....check out a few facts about brain damage statistics.
SOUTH WALES ECHO TUESDAY 20TH July 1993
*About one million people attend hospital every year because of a head injury, and as a result
almost 100,000 people in the U.K. suffer from the long term effects of brain damage.
*Brain injury occurs most commonly in males between the ages of 17 and 22 with 40 per cent
the result of road traffic accidents. Sixteen per cent will have some additional injury.
*There are about 80,000 survivors of severe brain injuries in the U.K.
*Brain injury is forty times more common than spinal injury, but there is not one centre
in the public sector devoted exclusively to brain injury treatment and the rehabilitation
of brain injured people. There is no standard brain injury as quite clearly each individual
is unique.
The kinds of problems that people who have suffered from brain injury might include :-
problems with understanding,memory,concentration,
seeing ,speaking and thinking.....moodiness,
depression, antisocial or aggressive behaviour,
difficulty in expressing themselves and
changes in sexual drive.
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Extracts from Andrew's diary
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Being aware of such great numbers Andrew is highly motivated to send a signal out to other
sufferers that he has hugely benefited from Tai Chi, Aikido and Chi-Kung; all non aggressive
forms of eastern martial arts, that are gentle on the body and mind, but that help to restore
coordination and clear thinking. The continuity and gentleness of many of the exercises has
contributed many fold to Andrew’s steady improvements.
Let’s move on then to some direct extracts from Andrew’s mammoth diary. ( He also feels that
the daily discipline of diary keeping helped in his recovery process.) First however ,some
extracts from his summary.
The bad old days and the good old days........................................
I remember vividly coming out of the coma. I thought I was in prison, and that all the nurses
were prison guards (!)I remember the curtains being pulled around me , then I was dressed,
bundled into a wheelchair and pushed to the table for breakfast............
I was in a coma for four and a half weeks. I left hospital in a wheelchair and was on sticks
and crutches for years, before it was finally decided that I did n’t need them anymore.
First of all I would walk around the house holding on to the walls and anything that I could
lay my hands on, then I would go for short walks,........first I could only manage to walk
across the road, rest for a while and then hobble back..
The next stage was swimming, which has turned out to be one of the best things that I have done.
I would get great encouragement from people telling me how much I had improved.
Back to the swimming. I would get in to the changing room, leave my crutches on top of the
locker and hobble very slowly, holding on to the walls.
I would get in to the water and go straight into freestyle stroke, when I had completed a
length, I would stop and tread water for a while before starting off again.
|
These are the early days on the steep ladder of recovery. What is clear is that Andrew was
determined from the very start that he would succeed. He has often said that when he was
young he would think that he might have an accident and that he would wonder about how he
was going to recover from it.
From being a self confessed boozer and drug taker Andrew has turned his passions into recovery,
fitness and a number of health promoting disciplines. When some people are injured, or end up
in a wheel chair, they give up, accepting their fate. Not so Andrew Penman, that was never going
to be the way. (Ed) Perhaps the following paragraph from Andrew’s own summary sums up his
attitude to getting well via fitness.
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"potty about timing myself..."
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It’s now mid way through January 91. In the first year of the accident, I used to pee in a
bottle. I first used to go in the room or if anybody was there, mother would help me outside,
then I progressed back to the kitchen which was about twenty yards away. . I then walked to
the corner of the street holding on to mother, then around the three greens with aunt Lorna,
then to Brendan’s the news agents. It’s all been a very slow job, but I never once complained
about doing the physio exercises..............I was gradually walking further and further and
spent most of early January doing walks, or floor exercises if it was too wet............of
course I wouldn’t go out if it was windy.......as I thought that I would get blown over (!)
I also bought a sit up bench and had light dumbells for fitness......I was admitted to Rookwood
on the 14th January 1991. I was potty about timing myself walking and exercising. I used to walk
for hours until I came to a standstill with inflamed tendons......I used to mark my diary as
though I were a school teacher, or mad professor and give myself stars and make silly
comments like ‘very good’ ‘keep it up’ ‘not bad’ etc.........I used to go walking
with and without the stick........on this one occasion I had two stars (!).
When I was in a wheel chair, I used to go to the toilet in a bottle. I would sit in the chair
and hang on 'til the very last moment. It has a been a very slow job, the improvement is so
slow
that close family do not notice the improvements, but someone who sees me every couple
of months does notice and tells me, and this gives me great encouragement and makes me
train all the harder.........it has all been a slow job...............but as I would say,
NO PAIN, NO GAIN
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The remaining extracts have been taken from Andrew’s diary in a manner as to reflect the
efforts
he has put in over the years, the humour he has managed to sustain and the natural healing
ideas that he has come across and put into to practice.
This web site is not the place to publish the whole of Andrew’s document, but a full version
may well be published one day, enabling many to read and share in many of the special moments
which came together in his long struggle against very nasty odds.
‘At this stage I could not go out on my own and was still in my wheelchair, using a stick for
very short distances........I was putting on weight which was to be expected as I wasn’t
getting about much......I was smoking, but I had to be watched constantly.
I had a day’s physiotherapy at Rookwood Hospital on the 4th October 1989. It was decided
that I needed to come to occupational therapy as well as physiotherapy everyday.
The Christmas party was at Rookward and Linda took me and mam.....the nurses were very pleased
to see me........(mmmmmm!? .....Ed)
Coming up to 1990 I continued with the therapy and my own exercises with light dumbells
..........sit ups and general fitness.
My mother wanted me to go to a faith healer, so went along open minded. The faith healer
and the reflexologist were husband and wife ( Nigel and Pat). He sat me down on a chair
in the room, stuck his hand son my knee and went into a sort of trance. I felt a pulling
sensation, then he put his hands on my head......and I felt (all) the heat from his hands.
I was feeling more confident about the future. We continued going for about six months,people
usually only go a few times...........but as long as it was doing me some good, we kept going.
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"sit ups..."
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January 2nd 1991
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Beginning of the year started as well as can be expected under the circumstances. I had
bought a bench for sit ups and general fitness,I was going out for walks, timing myself
.....things plodded along and I could see myself improving all the time......
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| Monday 21st
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Jan Physio twice a day, walked inside hospital without a stick, too cold to go out.
Much the same Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday
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| Saturday 2nd Feb 1991
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Exercised for 55 minutes after a short walk ( the reader should note that when Andrew uses
the term walking .......he means moving with pronounced difficulty on both legs)
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| Sunday 10th
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arm exercises 5 minutes, general exercises for 55 minutes, went for a walk with mother.......
ten minutes on the bike (fitness bike that is!), opened bowels ...........gave myself one
star and commented ‘not bad’ considering the weather.
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| Friday 15th
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Feeling generally O.K. At this time in our solar system. DR Mc Coy has just diagnosed
me as having acute gamblingitis......caused in trying to beat the boredom of everyday life.
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| Sunday 24 February
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Rainy and blustery.....exercises 20minutes and 15 minute arm exercises, went walking for one hour. Walked without stick to Seven Oaks Park....for this effort, I gave myself two
Stars, ticked it and commented ‘very good, keep it up’.
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| March
1st (St David’s Day)
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Walked down to the bookies, long way around (50 minutes), down shops with me mam (35 minutes)......without stick!
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| March 2nd
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I was thinking ‘there must be more to life than this’, but I was enjoying what I was doing and I knew that I would n’t always be doing this.
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| Wednesday 13 th March 1991.
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Went walking in the morning with and without stick exercises. Arm exercises 5 minutes, stretching 5 minutes, sit ups 15minutes, opened bowels, bath at the end of the day.
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| Friday 15th March.
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I’ve cut down my walking to 2 half hours a day, as my heel is starting to give way as a result of doing too much.......
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| Monday 18th March
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..........GAVE UP SMOKING
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| Tuesday 26th March
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Swimming with Steven, sister’s boyfriend. I have to be accompanied as I might lose my balance and slip.
I still do my exercises religiously....even if I have a full day elsewhere. Sometimes I’d get into bed knackered from a hard day’s training and if I had forgotten some exercise or other, I’d be up out of bed making sure that I did n’t finish the day without it.
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| Tuesday 16th April
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..........Off to the skill centre for re habilitation
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| Wednesday
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...........Debbie said I would reach a plateau in my improvements......I’ve just realised that all the physical work that I have been doing has actually been helping the brain...........this is why I am getting better.
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| Wednesday 15th May
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............Physio Debbie says, It’s all up to me now.......she’s right.
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| 7th June Friday
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Time of release was dinner time......I was given a ball to play with to help my concentration
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| 8th June Saturday
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I was told to walk with a stick to distribute weight evenly, as it was the left side that was paralysed
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| 11 th June
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...........no, pain.........no gain...............no pain..........no gain.............no pain..........no gain.
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"unaided..."
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| September 9th 91
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Big achievement, went swimming to the Empire pool unaided for the first time. I was still on crutches though
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| February 3rd 1992
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Had a walk to town, Tuesday had a blackout and I was taken to Cardiff Royal Infirmary Hospital and then on to Llandough hospital where I stayed overnight.
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"Big achievement"
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| Thursday 9th July.
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Ian Hughes....clinical psychologist called and talked about going to the Elm Street Centre for socializing, but after visiting the place I said that I would n’t be going there......it was full of down and outs and no hopers.
We’re going to take some giant leaps across the weeks and months of Andrew’s recorded thoughts.........let’s look at a trip to Spain in ’93
He’d gone on holiday to Spain with some members of a religious organisation, but felt very disappointed when they would n’t socialise. This all got a bit too much for him and he baled out and found himself a Welsh pub of all places. By this time he had given up smoking and Booze.
It was a good sensation flying, we got there and fell out.....so I thought bugger those two they are n’t going to spoil my holiday..............anyway I found a Welsh pub and made numerous friends.I ended up coming home early, as there was a spare place on one flight, but it only went as far as Picadilly, I then had to make my own way back...’Big achievement’, coming home from Spain on a plane and train....I felt well in command.
Continued with fitness regime all week......swimming, weight training.........sit ups, dumb bells.........and bath at 6 o’clock.
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| 19th of April 1993
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............I’ve learned to rest.............I’ve learned to fast
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| August 1st.1993
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Time is really flying, but looking back on what I’ve achieved.......I feel I’m getting stronger and stronger, sports centre five times a week, swimming three times a week (no wonder! Ed)
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| Christmas 1993
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Trained myself to a standstill.
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At this period of time Andrew shows that although he likes the company of others, he is
independent and ‘doesn’t suffer fools gladly.’ At any stage of the game he has shown
that he will shrug off help which is not required and will always instinctively pursue
his own path.......like all those who recover from any illness.
| Mon 10th January
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Training with Bernard Chesney at Llanishen Centre.....I carried on training in the house
...press ups, swat thrusts and stretching. I also train at the sports centre. I like going
there to meet people, to have a chat.......at this stage I was going to the library for
a walk as well as to get myself out of the flat.......it was a terribly rainy day, so I
rested which I was glad of as I’d done a lot the day before.
I was fasting, but not a proper fast as I used to have a cup of tea and fruit. I didn’t
start fasting till sometime in May.......................................... Knotted
pains in mystomach........I used to go to Cogan to keep my mind off the pains.
Staying off dairy products..............fasting regularly and getting stronger and stronger
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The next stage of Andrew’s recovery along with the exercising, the fasting and the dietary
improvements (lots of fruit and vegetables, white meat and fish)...........was to get the mind
into gear.......French lessons.........Aikido..............Tai chi................ Word
processing (which has led to this web site)........and anything to help him regain his
focussing and concentration skills.................... you name it.
| 8th February 1995
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Empire pool, did twenty lengths......front crawl, breaststroke and backstroke. I could feel myself getting stronger and stronger The health tablets I’m taking at the moment are Selenium, Lecithin, Royal Jelly, Taurine, L cystine.....beta carotene.....glutamine....................
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"ready to live on my own again..."
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| Feb 16th 1995
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...............I am relying on mother to do too many things for me......so I’ve started
to make enquiries about a flat
.......I’m now ready to live on my own again...........
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| 18th March 1995
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This week I did Aikido.....twice..........swimming three times, and the gym three times.
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Aikido was going to help Andrew enormously with co-ordination, timing and balance.
This seems to have been an incredibly poignant and creative period for him. He has been training for a three year period or more, developing his confidence
and strength and now the 'brainwork' begins to kick in. Reading his diary has been a
fascinating experience and this period now seems to be the real test , the decision not
to let his healing experience 'plateau out'......but to battle on and take things to greater
heights all the time.
| May 11th
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My diary has been a godsend.
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September 4th 1995
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Today was a significant day on my road to recovery. I had phoned up Radnor Road about Yoga,
Severn Road about Tai Chi...........Carried on with Aikido Tuesdays and Thursdays..........but
I’ve been overdoing it again!!!!!
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| Christmas 1995
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.......I’ve now been practicing fasting as a part of my healing programme for one and a half
years..............I think I’m going to end up training people............
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| Mon 5th Februay 1996
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...........I’ve learned to rest when exhausted and to take it easy.....just went for a swim and worked on the computer.
At the beginning of my physiotherapy treatment I was told that there was ojnly so much that the physio could do and the rest was up to me....................this made me determined to learn to walk again..........( and you know the rest of that part of the story by now......Ed)..........
Besides training my body..I knew that I had to train my mind, as I was suffering from short memory lapses and my speech was impaired. I decide to take up evening lessons in French, Word processing and Speech therapy.........In March 1995 I had been introduced to Aikido and I realised that this was what I had been looking for. I have been much inspired by the experience of Keneskua Sensi, who through his own determination got over cancer and thought his way back to health and fitness. Since practicing Aikido, my memory, concentration, balance and general fitness have all improved significantly..
Sensi Peter Gillard asked me to write a letter for the Aikido magazine. I did this and it came out in March and was the start of great things to come............
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"concentrating on aikido..."
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| Friday 15th March 1996
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Had the news letter from Aikido........done so much for me. I was feeling rather chuffed
with myself.....I haven’t been to the gym since February 24th......I’m concentrating on
Aikido.
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| Sunday 31st of March 1996
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It was this day that I THOUGHT THAT I WOULD LIKE TO PUBLISH A BOOK ABOUT MY ACCIDENT AND
RECOVERY.......AND HERE WE ARE A FEW YEARS LATER ON THE INTERNET AND ANYONE IN THE WORLD
CAN READ IT!!!
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| SUNDAY
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I FASTED
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| Monday
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JUST YOGA..........I GAVE AIKIDO A MISS ..........I DID SOME STRETCHING EXERCISES IN THE HOUSE WHICH HELPS ME TO RELAX.
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| Wednesday 19th June 1996
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Robert Taylor my Tai chi teacher said that he was very pleased with my progress. Everything
I do is geared towards helping my balance, co-ordination and memory. I then went for my usual
swim at the empire pool. I did sixteen lengths...I later found out that this is half a mile
.. (the old Empire Pool has now been demolished .......it was an Olympic size 50 metre pool
and was used when the Commonwealth Games were held in Cardiff in the late 1950’s. Ed)
The next day was Aikido training up at Llanrumney Leisure Centre......Debbie the physio
has said that I have been overdoing it again........on the walking and I now have an inflamed
ankle.Felt a lot better on Monday 24th and I resumed Yoga and Aikido classes.
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| 6th June 1996
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Got the keys to the flat.......a big step but I think I can handle it!
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moving on...
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At this stage of reading Andrew’s diary I would have to say that I had noticed that he had
paid regular homage to the nurses, physios, doctors and specialists who had helped him
this far, but it was also dawning on him from the early days that if anyone was going
to get him better, it was himself.
The decisions to get involved in Tai Chi, Aikido and later Chi Kung in order to help his
balance, concentration and general willpower, as well as to learn the skill of detoxification
through fasting, and continue with the swimming, free weights exercises and visits to the
gym all showed his determination to get well.
The reader will have noticed that his initial efforts were concentrated on walking well,
getting his strength and balance back and slowly but very surely getting back to speaking
once again. The whole process has been a very slow and drawn out effort, but one which has
clearly paid huge dividends....
Andrew is still improving and 12 years after an accident which had left him unable to walk,
see or speak, is left a minor speech impediment and a limp to his left side, both problems
which he feels he can eradicate.
Andrew is an active member of the community now pursuing, new skills in the form of learning
Japanese, computer skills and the use of the Internet. His longer term aim is to be involved
in the healing arts, as he feels that he has learnt so much.
At the moment he is seeking a publisher who may want to publish his story in full, in book
form so that this compelling story might reach out to others who are looking for help.
His continuing improvement from 1996 to the present time will also be included in this book.
Should you wish to contact Andrew you can e mail him:
ar.penman@ukonline.co.uk
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