Boxing champ Fury inspired teen to fight his demons
BY SARAH VESTY
A TEENAGER who broke his neck and back in a car crash has told how the injuries to his mental health were harder to overcome.
Cameron Saile was lucky to survive the accident in October last year after sustaining multiple traumatic crush injuries.
The 19-year-old, who also broke his sternum, beat the odds and was walking within just two weeks thanks to the heroic team of medics at Ninewells Hospital in Dundee.
But he struggled to come to terms with the accident and fell into a deep depression – and attempted to take his own life just weeks later.
Thankfully, he was unsuccessful. However, Cameron continued to feel as if he was “drowning” and selfmedicated with alcohol and drugs.
After being inspired by boxing heavyweight champion Tyson Fury, who has spoken about his own mental health struggles, Cameron decided to fight back against his demons.
The brave teen, of Ladybank in Fife, said: “I’ve always sort of had problems with mental health, dipping in and out of them while I was growing up.
“The worst time I’ve ever experienced it though was after my car crash.
“Straight after it, I slipped into a really depressive state that I really struggled to get out of.
“The only way I can describe it was like everyone being under water but you’re the only one drowning while everyone else can breathe.
“You hold your breath for such a long time. You’re sick to your stomach constantly and you’re never able to find any positives. It’s really scary.
“I couldn’t deal with it. I attempted suicide but, by luck, I woke up.
“This is why I believe in God or some sort of higher power, because I should have died in that crash and on that day that I tried to commit suicide, but I didn’t.”
After the car crash, Cameron’s family were warned he faced being paralysed for life.
The teenager said: “I broke my neck and spine, dislocated my neck, broke my chest bone. I was covered in blood and cuts.
“I walked two weeks after the crash because I was getting sick of being in bed. Anyone who knows me, knows that I never give up. I dust myself down, get up and get on with it.
“That was the physical injuries, but when it came to the mental ones I just couldn’t do it.
“Without a doubt, the worst damage that happened was to my mental health.
“Because I was bed-bound, I
couldn’t really go out or do the things that all my friends were doing. I was too scared to go in cars.
“All I did was sit in my room and cry. I was either eating nothing or everything. I was drinking, using drugs, I was smoking.
“I don’t know how I survived that period.
“Very few people knew what I was going through and how bad it was. I didn’t want to talk to anyone.
“Because what I’d already been through with the crash was a lot, and my friends had been there for me through that, I didn’t want them to feel like I was putting more pressure on them. “I thought that they would be like, ‘Oh, another issue’. “When you’re in that zone and so down and depressed, you just want the pain to stop and to kill yourself. That’s all you think about and you can’t think of any positives.” Cameron became inspired to help others after watching the title fight between Fury and Deontay Wilder in February, during his recovery. He learnt about Fury’s battles with mental health and decided to set up a peer support network on his Instagram and TikTok. Cameron, who met Fury last week, said: “What kick-started me was when he beat Deontay Wilder to become the heavyweight champion. His story really hits home with me, seeing how bad he was with mental health, and his journey to being a champion is what pushed me.
“I’ve obviously not got the physical capabilities to be a world champion because of my injuries. But that’s why I now want to help as many people as I can. I want to encourage others to speak up and to reach out to me or others if they’re struggling.
“If I can help just one person and affect them in a positive way, then I’m happy with that.
“If I can come back from the place that I was in and make sure people know my story, then I hope it’ll be enough to encourage others to get help.
“It really is OK not to be OK.”
Contact the Samaritans 24/7 and free on 116 123 or by visiting Samaritans.org. Help is also available from Breathing Space on 0800 83 85 87.