'I face my hardest year ever'

Tom goes home at last

Tom Somerville,16, suffered a serious injury when falling awkwardly during a game of rugby.

He lost all feeling, and feared the worst. Doctors soon confirmed he had broken his neck.

Tom wrote a diary for BBC News Online describing his emotions and the treatment he received in the first weeks following his life-threatening injury. Here, he reveals the progress he has made since then.

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Last time I updated my diary in mid-November I was wondering whether I would be coming home for Christmas or spending it on a hospital ward.

My biggest worry for the coming year is how the public will react to me Read Tom's original diary

But here I am on Boxing Day sitting in my own house typing up my diary myself.

To finally be home is a huge relief and the fact that it has been Christmas was almost incidental.

The best present by far has been coming home and spending time with my family and animals (a Jack Russell called Nonnie and our cats Piri-Piri and Blossom).

I'm under no illusion that the year 2004 will be an easy year, indeed I have no doubt that it will be my hardest year.

At some point in 2004 I will be discharged fully from hospital return home and start living life as normally as possible in a wheelchair.

And I want so much to be out of hospital for good, back at college and going out with my mates.

My biggest worry for the coming year is how the public will react to me. By this I mean will I be able to go places without people gawking at me.

Tom is working on his computer

Last time you heard from me I had been in hospital for three weeks. Now I have been inside for two months.

Things have changed, and mainly for the better.

My right arm has more movement and my left has increased in strength.

However, I still have no finger movement, no feeling below the chest and no leg feeling or movement - lovely.

Physiotherapy

I have worked hard on physiotherapy in the hospital gymnasium - I do a lot of work on the arm bike, to build up strength and movement.

The physio (my mate Tony has been replaced by Claire, who's very good too) sets me a target of revolutions to do, often 500, and I usually push myself to beat it.

They also strap me into an electric exercise bike, to keep my legs moving. The motor does all the work and it's a bit boring, as I sit there for 20 minutes staring into space while my legs go round.

I'm often put on the tilt table - which does what is says on the tin. It tilts me upright, while holding me safely on the table.

The support of friends has been vital

I think it's to get the blood flowing round and to get me used to a standing position, though I obviously can't take the weight on my legs.

An important exercise is propping myself up - I have my arms out to my sides as I sit up on a padded bench and then have to try to stay sitting, bearing my own weight. It's to help me balance and hold my own body upright.

To help myself learn to turn myself in bed, I lie flat on a bench and I have to try turn over by locking both hands together and moving them up from hip to shoulder to get up the momentum to flick myself over.

This is so that sooner or later I don't have to rely on others to do it for me.

The physios used inflated arm bands which are the length of the whole arm and they offer resistance when I do exercises - again increasing strength.

As I broke my neck, I also need to work to get some strength back so I can hold my head up straight without a brace.

When I did my last diary, I couldn't lift my head up and had to have a brace on in the wheelchair - now I rarely wear the brace, though I'm just getting Mum to put it on as it's been a long day and my neck aches.

I've now got Dad to do the typing as I'm getting tired.

Occupational therapy

World Cup winner Josh Lewsey visited

I still haven't got movement in my fingers and so Hayley, my occupational therapist, is working to move the fingers to get blood flow back and encourage them to move.

I'm learning to write left-handed (I was right-handed but my left arm is now stronger) using a brace which holds a pen.

I can do a lot more for myself than when I last did the diary and can now brush my teeth and also eat from a plate with a fork using a special hand strap.

It's nice not to be fed by someone else, and doing it for myself takes away some of the sense of embarrassment.

Using computer splints on both my index fingers and a tracker ball, I can now use a computer to read my flood of e-mails and play computer games.

I haven't got thumb movement but using wrist movements I can grip things and can lift a glass to my mouth and drink. This feels good after weeks of getting others to give me drinks.

Friends

Something which helps me get through each day is the friendship and support of a lot of the other patients.

There's Jason, who's in the next bed to me. He's a bit loud but decent - top geezer, but shame about his cardigans.

Then there's Adrian - my lewd Scottish friend. A former paratrooper who's now a psychologist (or was it sociologist), not known for his subtlety.

And I mustn't forget John, Peter, Steve and Paul.

Several of us watched the rugby World Cup final together - I had my signed England shirt across my bed - a tense game but great to win.

The England team have now sent me another signed shirt which we're auctioning to raise money.

And it was really great of the England fullback, Josh Lewsey to visit me just days after he came back from Australia.

The physio staff (female) especially enjoyed his visit.

And I couldn't pick out members of the ward staff to mention, because it wouldn't be fair to the others as they all look after me.

All of these people are very significant in my recovery but none compare with my family - my mum and dad, grandparents and cousins.

Plus my friends Jeni, Matt, Celine, Iona, Ellie and everyone else who visits me.

The future

Tom opens his presents

Looking ahead to the coming year I want to be out of hospital and home in time for my 17th birthday on 23 March.

But while going home will be great, it will also be hard.

I can't move around the house freely like I used to and everything seems cramped when I'm in a my wheelchair.

I can't wait to go back to school too, but I that won't be the same either.

I can't really imagine what it be like.

The school, Mill Hill County, has been great so far and they have promised to help me through it all.

So the next 12 months will be a weird mixture of independence and obstacles.