A UK man who took a bath to relieve what he thought was a trapped nerve became paralyzed for life just minutes later.
Darren Roberts, 39, has been unable walk, feed himself or control his bowels ever since that life-changing day in July 2019.
The former manager of a tool rental company had been lying in bed watching TV at his family home in the Cynon Valley, Wales, on a Sunday afternoon.
When he felt a sudden sharp pain in his neck and shoulder, followed by pins and needles in his arms, he assumed it was due to a pinched nerve.
Roberts ran a bath in the hope it would ease the pain, Wales Online reported.
But slowly his toes, legs, hips, arms and torso went numb, and within 20 minutes, he couldn’t move his body.
The car and golf enthusiast was trapped in the bathtub but was able to get his parents to call an ambulance.
He said: “They basically had to remove me from the bath as I was basically dead from the neck down.”
Roberts, then age 36, was taken to Prince Charles Hospital in Merthyr Tydfil and says he had “an inkling it was more serious than I thought.”
An MRI scan was carried out, during which time Roberts says he had become “completely immobile.”
Doctors decided Roberts should be put into a coma after being taken by ambulance to the University Hospital of Wales in Cardiff.
His family feared he might never wake up when he developed an aggressive form of pneumonia and didn’t respond well to treatment.
“My family were told to prepare for the worst,” Roberts said.
“Fortunately I did start responding to treatment and I was brought out of an induced coma after four weeks.”
Shockingly, Roberts had to come to terms with the fact he was still paralyzed after the month-long coma.
He said: “I knew my life was never going to be the same again. I didn’t know what to think because I was such an independent person.
“It was a massive shock to my system to now be in a position where I had to ask for everything — even something as little as a sip of water.
“As doctors didn’t know what had caused my condition, they couldn’t tell me if I would make any recovery.”
Roberts was told that he had irreversible damage to his spinal cord.
Usually injuries of this nature are the result of a fall, car accident, infections or gunshot or stab wounds.
When Roberts was transferred to Rookwood Hospital in Cardiff in September 2019, it was confirmed his spine problem would be life-changing.
He has remained at the hospital for more than two years, receiving 24-hour care.
Roberts said: “Nothing can prepare you for the news that you’ll never walk again, but to be told this along with the fact I’d never be able to use my hands again was devastating.
“I feel like I’m just a burden to everyone, which doesn’t help my depression and anxiety.”
Roberts is now classed as disabled tetraplegic, which means he needs help with almost all aspects of his life.
“I can’t eat or drink without assistance,” he said.
“I’m also fully incontinent. I have a suprapubic catheter fitted to manage my bladder and bowel movements every day.”
Roberts praised staff at the hospital, saying: “Nurses gave up so much, even isolating from their own families to care for the patients on the spinal unit as we were classed as high-risk.”
Due to the medical equipment Roberts relies on, he cannot return to the family home and requires a new home with 24-hour care.
A GoFundMe campaign has been launched in a bid to buy him special equipment for the house, based in Cwmbach.
The page says: “Darren is now getting closer to coming home, however he is going to need a lot of assistance and support.
“Darren lost his job due to his condition which he truly loved and had a great passion for.
“This page has been set up to assist Darren in funding necessities for his new home to adapt to his new life when he leaves hospital and give him the best opportunity to live his life to the fullest without the worry.”
To donate, click here.
This story originally appeared on the Sun and was reproduced here with permission.
