Doctors told us we’d never walk again.. but Martin & I are going to prove them wrong
Paralysed pair vow to defy odds
THE wide smiles say it all. For Martin Hibbert and Steve Cook, their friendship could be the last piece of the puzzle to make the impossible possible.
Both had feared they would never walk again. Yet both have astounded the medical world by getting feeling back in their legs. Now they have vowed to help each other walk independently once more – and prove their doctors wrong.
Their friendship comes after they had ground-breaking treatment in Australia that aims to use neurophysics to reprogramme the brain to help those with spinal injuries defy the odds.
The Mirror told last month how Manchester Arena bomb survivor Martin, 41, can stand, kneel and crawl after two weeks in Oz – despite having a severed spinal cord.
He is making more progress thanks to Steve, 55, of Cleethorpes, Lincs, who was paralysed after a bike crash two years ago but has taken his first unassisted steps.
It is all thanks to radical treatment at the NeuroPhysics Therapy Institute in Queensland, Australia. Pioneered by therapist Ken Ware it teaches the brain to bypass injuries and send messages to the body in a different way. The pair were reunited this week after first being introduced six weeks ago. Back then, Martin watched astonished as Steve walked into his house on crutches.
He felt hope – that he might do the same – and trepidation that he might not respond the same way to treatment.
Martin’s results – in just two weeks last month – were “beyond miraculous”.
“I’ve never had anyone respond so quickly,” says Ken. “NPT doesn’t automatically work for everyone. The patient has to want to make changes to their life and be willing to work.”
Looking at Steve and Martin, it’s hard to believe that just a short time ago they were lying in hospital beds absorbing the prognosis that they would spend the rest of their lives in wheelchairs.
Football agent Martin, of Chorley, Lancs, was left fighting for his life after the blast that killed 22 on May 22 last year. He was the closest victim to survive.
Cyclist Steve knows what Martin is going through in his rehab. In August 2015 a car ploughed into him at 60mph.
He hit a tree suffering four spinal fractures, a broken sternum, fractured ribs and punctured lungs.
“Everything went black,” remembers Steve, a former time-trial champion. “As I hit the ground, my eyes opened, and then I felt all the feeling go from my legs.
“Doctors said afterwards that the only reason I survived is because I was so fit. They didn’t think I’d make it to hospital.”
The ex-maintenance supervisor was airlifted to Queen’s Medical Centre, Nottingham. “Doctors tried to decompress the spine but there was no sensation in my legs apart from slight feeling in my quadriceps.
“They started talking about paraplegia and saying things like, ‘Chances are nothing’s going to come back’.”
After a month Steve was transferred to Pinderfield Spinal Unit, Wakefield.
“I’d been trying to stay positive until my consultant said my chances of recovery were between zero and 3%. My
I vowed to be in tiny percentage who do recover. You think,‘There has to be a way out’ CYCLIST STEVE COOK ON HEARING CHANCE OF RECOVERY WAS ZERO TO 3%
wife Louise wheeled me into Wakefield town centre. Sitting outside a coffee shop, we started to cry. After five minutes we hugged and promised there’d be no more tears. I was lucky to have survived – and we’d cope.
“But I still vowed to be in that tiny percentage who do recover. When you are in a position like this, all you can think is ‘there’s got to be a way out’.”
Like Martin would later do, Steve came across the radical NPT therapy while searching online for “recovery from spinal cord injury”. He travelled to Australia twice – in summer 2016 and last autumn. Three weeks ago, he took his first unaided steps. Seeing Martin again, he is thrilled.
“Martin’s achievements are giant steps and to have done them in two weeks is phenomenal,” says Steve. “When we met he was unable to sit up without support. Today he’s so upright and strong he puts me to shame.
“I cannot wait to progress together. It’s about your head getting in the right place. But we’ve got it. This is just the beginning.”
Seeing Steve take his first steps has been a big boost to Martin too.
“I want to walk again. That’s the aim,” says Martin. “I wouldn’t have put my body and mind through all that if there wasn’t that end goal. I’ve seen what can be done, and needs to be done, and I’m really proud of myself.
“I need to stay focused and driven. I need to work on building strength in my legs before I contemplate walking.
“But I saw how quickly I improved in a few days. It’s all about my mind telling my body it can hold the weight.”
They hope to inspire others. “We’re the only two from the UK to have this treatment,” says Martin. “If I get into a lull I can phone him and vice versa. We can share that experience – that adventure. Steve’s a lot further down that journey but hopefully he can see me in him and where I am today.”
Steve, wearing a Challenge Your Limits Ironman T-shirt given to him by his wife, nods. “Seeing Martin has given me another lift. He is on such a high. It’s inspired me all over again.”
Martin loves the images captured by the Mirror during his treatment, especially the one of him sitting on the Gold Coast beach – arms outstretched. “That picture sums it up perfectly,” he said. “If I’d tried to do that at the start of the trip I’d have fallen on my back or side. To do that pose is amazing. It gives me huge confidence. Those muscles are still there. It’s about training them. “For 10 months my body was switched off. But in Australia it was switched back on. In bed at night my legs are going like Riverdance! “The messages are getting through. I need to keep them going. Who knows what we can achieve long term?”
In bed at night my legs are going like Riverdance! The messages are getting through BOMB VICTIM MARTIN HIBBERT ON HIS BODY RESPONDING TO TREATMENT