Young man begged nurses to end his life after horror crash

A young man who was left paralysed in a car crash begged nurses to end his life after falling into a “depressive state” after the accident.

Craig Sears, 20, from Ayrshire, spent nine months in the spinal unit of Glasgow’s Queen Elizabeth University Hospital after he suffered life-changing injuries when his car slid off a road and into a ditch in June last year.

As well as breaking his neck and shattering his C6 and C5 vertebrae, he also damaged his spinal cord which left him paralysed from the chest down.

Mr Sears said dark days followed until his nurses – and their mutual love of music – helped him to turn things around.

He said: “When I woke up in hospital and realised the extent of my injuries, I was in a very depressive state. I was asking nurses all sorts of inappropriate requests to just end my life, stuff like that for a week or so at the start.

“This all happened at the height of Covid, so we weren’t able to have visitors either. So, the staff became my family at that time.

“I remember one of the nurses asking me if I liked music, and that’s when things started to improve for me.

“The nurses were busy, but when they had the time, they would sit and talk to me. It was often the students and the fact they were around my age helped too.

“They were so caring. It started with the music channel, with 70s and 80s music, and soon I was singing to the nurses and then we were all singing together.

“One of the nurses was in the hospital choir, so she had a great voice.”

After spending time in the acute receiving ward Edenhall, Mr Sears was then transferred to the Phillipshill ward for rehabilitation.

He said: “Their input was invaluable. They pushed me to do things for myself and become more independent. Things like learning to wash myself.

“My independence is better than I ever thought it would be in the early days.

“The physios too pushed me and made me believe I could do things for myself. Amanda – she was amazing – on another level.

“They came up with little gadgets to help me do things. The help is ongoing too and they work together with my home support team even now.

“I’m doing well and hope to work in an area where I can spread awareness of spinal cord injuries, further my independence and travel.”

Mr Sears’ consultant, Andre Des Etages, said: “We are delighted to have played such a significant role in Craig’s recovery and to hear that he is continuing to improve at home with community care teams.

“Our staff in Edenhall and Philipshill strive to deliver person-centred, compassionate care which is underpinned by communication, kindness and trust.

“Taking the time to understand what is important to our patients as individuals is particularly important to our teams and I’m pleased to see such positive outcomes from their hard work.

“It’s always rewarding to hear patient stories of their experiences with us and I’m pleased that music therapy has been so beneficial to Craig in supporting both his physical and emotional recovery following his accident.

“We would also like to thank Craig for lifting spirits within the ward with his singing during a time when staff have been facing unprecedented challenges.

“I’d like to wish Craig all the best in his crowdfunding, his travel and his hopes to raise awareness of spinal cord injuries and look forward to hearing how his journey progresses.”