Biker who defied odds says safety gear saved life

2 hours ago

Jack Maclean,in Norwichand

Neve Gordon-Farleigh

News image — Steve Jones said his wife and family were told to prepare themselves for the worst after he was involved in a collision while on his motorbike in 2018

Steve Jones Steve Jones standing in front of a yellow ambulance with East Anglian Air Ambulance on its door. He is wearing dark glasses and a black T-shirt with Brave written on it over a red long-sleeved top, with the sleeves rolled up. — Steve Jones said his wife and family were told to prepare themselves for the worst after he was involved in a collision while on his motorbike in 2018

A motorcyclist who suffered a life-changing brain injury after being knocked off his bike into a water-filled ditch is encouraging other riders not to compromise on safety gear.

The last thing Steve Jones, from Norwich, remembers is riding his motorbike in north Norfolk in 2018, before waking up in Addenbrooke's Hospital in Cambridge five weeks later.

He spent the next eight years recovering, including having to re-learn how to walk.

"It was so bad my wife and my loved ones were told to prepare for the worst because the odds were so against me," he said.

Steve Jones A slightly out of focus images of Steve Jones in black leathers on a black motor bike as he drives through a gate. Behind him is carpark with a few parked up motorbikes, green fields and a a couple of red brick buildings. — Jones riding his Yamaha FZ6 Fazer, wearing full protective gear, just days before his accident

On 23 June 2018, as Jones was overtaking a car, he was catapulted head-first through a wall and into a water-filled ditch.

A fellow biker who had been riding with Jones jumped into the ditch and was able to hold his head above the water until the emergency services were able to arrive at the scene 21 minutes later.

"The next thing I remember was waking up in Addenbrooke's Hospital being told it was five weeks later, which was a bit of a shock," Jones said.

"Surviving the impact was only the beginning."

His rehabilitation also included narrative therapy where he documented his life before and after the accident.

Eight years to the day of the accident, he has published a book titled, Back From The Brink.

'The reason I was alive'

Steve Jones Steve Jones sitting up in a hospital bed wearing a grey sleeveless top and glasses. On the right, leaning over a chair arm, is Claire Jones who has straight fair hair over her shoulders and is earing a floral top. Ward J2 at Addenbrooke's Hospital, August 2018 — Jones woke up in Addenbrooke's Hospital five weeks after his crash (above with his wife Claire)

Speech and language therapist Lauren Flannery said: "Steve is a real example of the resilience and courage - it takes to work hard every day to put your life back together after such a significant event."

She said that rehabilitation can often be a "long journey".

At the time of the accident, Jones was in the final stages of finishing a PhD thesis and joined Suffolk Police as a cyber security advisor before fulfilling his dream of being a university lecturer at the University of East Anglia.

East Anglian Air Ambulance Steve Jones standing between East Anglian Air Ambulance staff, with two men and a woman on the left and two women and a man on the right. Behind him is a bright yellow ambulance. — In November 2018, Jones and his wife met the ambulance crew and paramedics who saved his life

Looking back on the accident, he is encouraging other bikers to make sure they invest in proper safety gear after he was left "shocked" seeing other riders in short-sleeved T-shirts and flip flops.

"I get the draw of the bike," he said. "Honestly, there's not a day that goes by that I don't miss it, but my wife has decreed I'm not to get on two wheels again.

"If you are a biker and heading on the roads please, please invest and do not compromise on safety gear.

"The doctor said to me when I woke up, that is the reason I was alive and there was a body for them to put back together."