Alan Jenkins: Paralysed grandfather at home at last after fundraising campaign
A grandfather left paralysed in a cycling accident was home for Christmas after a major fundraising drive was organised to cover the cost for adaptations to be carried out to the property.
Alan Jenkins, of St George's, in Telford, suffered a spinal cord injury while taking part in the New Forest 103-mile cycling sportive in September 2016 which left him unable to move from the chest down. He was airlifted to hospital, in Southampton, following the devastating accident.
After months of life saving medical treatment and rehabilitation the 62-year-old is at last living at his new family home.
His family were initially told by doctors that he was unlikely to survive, but he pulled through. Later they were told he may never come off his ventilator, but after being moved to the critical care unit in Stoke, he was eventually able to breathe by himself, swallow and enjoy eating.
He was moved to the Midlands centre for spinal injury in Oswestry in January where he had physiotherapy that allowed him to sit in a wheelchair followed by a spell since April at the Morris Care Centre in Wellington.
But the family home that he and wife Celia lived in for 21 years has been sold and the couple bought a nearby bungalow that required changes to make it suitable for his needs.
With the help of an online fundraising page, the family received £25,832 towards the work to widen doorways, decorate and rewire the property so that Alan can use his wheelchair and have care equipment fitted.
Alan, a former delivery driver, said: "I wanted to be home for Christmas. it's been a bit of a rush, but we are in the bungalow now which is great.
"We've had a few family and friends call round so far, but I think most people are waiting for us to settle in.
"It is good to be home. In all I've been in a combination of hospitals and care homes for 15 months so it's been a long time.
"I come back to a different home from the one we had and we're getting used to a new routine. I require a lot of medical support and I'm getting used to all the people and the different equipment.
"Hopefully in a few weeks or months things will settle down. It's a nice bungalow and the surroundings are lovely."
Mrs Jenkins, 58, said: "We're back together now which is important. It's brilliant for him as he's able to manoeuvre himself around the bungalow. He has carers who come in to help as I'm still at work.
"We've got a very supportive family and a massive network of friends and even people we don't know have been helping. We couldn't have done it without everyone's help.
"We had an amazing response for the fundraising which offset the cost of getting the bungalow ready and took away the financial worry for me. We're really grateful to everyone for their support."
A welcome home concert organised by Olenik-Pritchard, of The Ronnies, was held at Holy Trinity Church, in Oakengates, on December 18.
The couple have three children: Sarah, 32, Louise, 30, and Andrew, 25, and grandson Elliott.
