Mark McLaughlin
Edinburgh Evening News
April 23, 2008
A FORMER music teacher today described how he has pieced his life back together following a bicycle crash which left him in a wheelchair and unable to use his hands.
Mike Harrison, 69, of Ravenscroft Drive in Gilmerton, was an accomplished pianist as well as a keen cyclist and yachtsman, before the freak accident robbed him of nearly all his passions.
Two years ago, Mr Harrison took his bike to the Cyclist Touring Club's annual conference in Cardiff, but the last thing he remembers of that day is arriving at the conference dinner.
The next thing he can recall is waking up three days later strapped to a hospital bed with his head in a brace to stop it moving and the doctors telling him his neck was broken.
He said: "There's not an awful lot goes through your mind at a moment like that. It's all too much to take in.
"After the operation it was discovered that I was tetraplegic, which means I can lift my arms but I have very little use of my fingers, and my legs are now totally paralysed so I have to use a wheelchair.
"The doctors said there was a chance I would have some very small recoveries as the years go on, but that I would have to live with the disabilities.
"You just have to get on with it from there and learn to live your life in a completely different way.
"It was hard not being able to play the piano any more, but the thing I miss the most is not being able to get out and about.
"I used to travel everywhere on my bike. I kept a mileage chart of all of my travels and I did 7000 miles on the bike in the last year, compared to around 4000 in the car."
On April 22, 2006, Mr Harrison is thought to have left the conference dinner at around midnight before trying to make his way back to his hotel by bike. Witnesses said they heard a crash and ran to find Mr Harrison, then a music teacher at Whitburn Academy, lying by the side of the road.
He thinks the most likely explanation for his accident was a pothole, and added: "There is a system of bollards and raised pavements in place on the way up to the road where it happened, so the likelihood of another vehicle being involved was slim."
Despite being unable to cycle, Mr Harrison has retained his position as the Scottish secretary of the CTC, and still attends events.
He is also a keen advocate of public transport, and campaigns for better services as Scottish branch secretary of train lobby Rail Future.
Last week, the News revealed that 168 cyclists had been hospitalised after cycle accidents in the Lothians last year - 77 of those with head injuries. Despite the growing calls to make helmets compulsory, Mr Harrison is cautious about the move.
He said: "Helmets are very good for protecting your head but they don't do much for the rest of the body.
"The only thing that would have prevented my accident would have been a more conscientious approach to road maintenance by Cardiff council."
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