Now exactly a year on, Richard is more positive about the future than ever thanks to the love and support of his friends and family.

KAREN FAUGHEY met the family.

DAD-OF-ONE Richard Bradley may be paralysed from the chest down but he reckons there's plenty for him to smile about.

An accident left him on a life support machine for more than a week and a further eight months bed ridden.

But even though the 25-year-old can no longer walk, he reckons he's lucky because the accident stopped one vertebrae short from costing him the use of his arms.

That would have meant he couldn't cuddle his precious five-year-old son Lewis – the little ray of sunshine who kept him going when the chips were down.

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Richard told Mail2 of his desperate times in hospital.
"I had carers and nurses coming in all the time," he said. "I couldn't sit up, feed myself or do anything for myself.

"I had to have bed baths. It was the lowest point of my life – just being stuck there, so all my family had to put up with my angry times."

Richard's dad Terry Bradley, 48, from Dryden Road, said: "When the doctors told him he would never walk again, he said to me 'why don't they just let me die?'

"I got a photo out of the little fella and I said 'that's why you're not going to die. He needs his dad."

Lewis, a pupil at Rift House Primary School, willingly helps dad by fetching the various things he needs around the house.
"He's what pulled me through," said Richard. "I had all his photos round my bed."

Though Richard is paralysed from the chest down, he is thankful that he still has the use of his arms – particularly when it comes to enjoying a precious cuddle with Lewis.

"One more vertebrate up and I would have lost the use of my arms as well," he said.

Dad of one Richard was left paralysed from the chest down after he fell from an elevated platform while working away down south in West Sussex.

After a year that Richard describes as 'his worst ever', the happy-go-lucky 25-year-old is determined that 2008 is going to be his best year yet.

Richard, 25, said: "I was cable pulling down in Crawley and we were busy dressing the cables - making sure they were neat and tidy.

"While we were doing that the racking collapsed and fell towards me. That's all I remember. I can't even tell you if it hurt."

The weight of the 10-tonne structure broke Richard's back in four places, severed his spinal cord, broke all of his ribs and punctured both his lungs.

He was pushed backwards onto a piece of loft insulation which cushioned the 45ft fall.Richard spent a week-and-a-half on a life support machine in London and a further week in intensive care before he was eventually well enough to be transferred to James Cook University Hospital in Middlesbrough where he spent the next two months.

His girlfriend Sarah Owens, 22, said: "When it first happened, I didn't know whether I was batting or bowling.

"We didn't know what the next five minutes were going to bring. I literally had my fingers crossed as I came down the stairs on a morning."

The months after the accident were a dark time for Richard and he was forced to spend a mammoth eight months resting in bed.

He returned to hospital in August, last year, for an eight-week rehabilitation course aimed at teaching him how to regain his independence.

It was the first time that he had been able to get out of bed for the course which included cooking classes, physiotherapy and general mobility advice.

He was only there two weeks when doctors said he could return home. It was the perfect surprise for his parents who returned home from their summer holiday the same day.

"That day was a massive step," said Richard. "It meant that I could start doing things for myself again and finally get a bit of independence back."

Richard, who has two sisters Kelly Bradley, 30, and Terri-Louise Bradley, 28, said of his family: "Words can't describe what I would like to say to them for what they have done for me.

"But it's not just my family, it's my friends as well that have always been there for me."

Llife in the Bradley household is by no means plain sailing, and getting ready on a morning is no easy feat for Richard.

"We all take it for granted that if you get up late you can just rush and be out of the house in 10 minutes," said Sarah.

"But Richard can't do that. It takes him about an hour-and-a-half to get ready."

Richard explained: "Sarah often helps me get ready on a morning. She helps me get in and out of the bath, and she helps to lift my legs over when I get to the top of the stairs."

Richard is still positive that lots more improvements can be made and he is already being taught how to swim again thanks to his hydrotherapy sessions.

He expects to get a hand-controlled automatic car in three months time.

He is also keen to buy a bungalow that is suitable for his needs.

His current council home in Longfellow Walk has a narrow kitchen, which means he struggles to get in and out in his wheelchair.

This week marks a year since Richard's life was changed forever.

But rather than looking backwards, Richard, of Longfellow Walk in Hartlepool, is determined to look forward.

He will complete a 10,000ft tandem parachute jump to raise money for the staff at the James Cook University Hospital who cared for him.

Already he has managed to raise £3,500, but he's certain that by Friday he will have even more.

He said: "I've got to be happy because I can still be here and watch my son grow up.

"I'm still exactly the same person that I always was. I just can't walk any more."

Anyone wishing to sponsor Richard can contact his dad Terry on (01429) 292262.