Rae (Mohammed) Saleem was involved in a cycling accident in 2017 which paralysed him from the neck down. Rae also broke his nose, had extensive facial injuries as well as external and internal skull fractures and neuro damage.
Father of three, Rae Saleem, joined WheelPower as a participant at the Inter-Spinal Unit Games 2018 from Stanmore Spinal Unit after sustaining a C2/3 and C5/6 incomplete injury.
Talking about the lead up to his accident, ‘I was 118kg (18st, 260lbs) at my heaviest weight, and decided it was time to get healthy and fit, I had spent a lot on a bike with it just being left in the shed’ he jokes.
On the 12th Sept 2017, Rae decided to go for a 20km bike ride, and although he was tired he felt fine, so visited his local gym afterwards. Whilst riding there, just around the corner from his house, his bike sped down the hill a little too fast, trying to slow down he clipped the curb and mounted the pavement into a bush. Rae went head over the handle bars and landed on the concrete pavement face down, with his legs thrown up over the back of his head, where he suffered severe facial injuries, a cracked skull and a broken neck.
Rae was fortunate enough that one of the first people that came to his aid was a nurse who knew exactly what to do and refused despite his pleading to move him but kept him as he was and called the Emergency services, keeping him conscious.
He was taken to Barnet Hospital in the first instance, where his injuries were deemed too complex and was transferred to the Royal London Major Trauma Unit, where nurses and doctors told him he was initially lucky to be alive as his breathing was getting more shallower due to the nature of the injury and the time it has taken. The news then came that he was lucky, it seems he would be able to eat and breathe unaided, however, is paralysed from the neck down and would not be able to walk again.
‘That was so shocking to be told that, given what I thought was a simple bike accident’, admits Rae.
Rae began his journey as a quadriplegic. Towards the end of his spell at Royal London he suddenly started to feel some movement coming back in his left foot.‘It was such a surreal moment one that I hope I will never forget as we take all these movements for granted. From then I was determined to prove the naysayers wrong’, he says, ‘I even attempted to do exercises in the hospital bed so that my body would attempt to remember movement. It was like a ‘Rocky’ movie’ jokes Rae.
By July 2019, after almost 2 years in recovery and rehab, the unthinkable happened, and Rae was back up on his feet and walking. He attempted and completed his first 10k run for a Sri Lankan charity helping inter-faith rebuilding.
Since his revolutionary life-changing experience, Rae has had to change career path to fit into his new lifestyle. ‘I used to be in Information Technology (IT), however, since rehabilitation I have never regained the full fine motor skills that I used to have for dealing with fast keyboard typing, quick note taking and technical skills’. So, he switched to Medical Scientific work. ‘It’s really interesting, and wonderful seeing the work I produce helping others in hospital’.
Rae has been so grateful to WheelPower for the help and support that he has actively become involved in supporting the cause. Rae supported the Charity in 2018 by raising £1,500 by asking for donations through Facebook for his birthday. ‘I was astounded’, exclaims Rae, ‘especially as at that stage I was not able to do much to raise funds, I thought we’d raise £200 at best, but family and friends have been incredibly generous, and we wouldn’t have raised so much without their help. It was here I was inspired and thought the next time it would be great to train for an event!’.
‘I was so amazed with how the Inter-Spinal Unit Games adapted so many sports for those in wheelchairs and others not fully able. I enjoyed trying out wheelchair cue sports, cricket and wheelchair javelin. It has triggered a desire to want to do more, and help this worthwhile Charity to transform lives’, comments Rae. He went on to volunteer for the Mix96 Tour de Vale Charity Bike Ride 2018 – Buckinghamshire’s biggest bike ride and support WheelPower in their 70th year anniversary.
He reflects on his experience, ‘It’s amazing how surprised you feel when you look back at how you were paralysed and then acknowledge where you are now and how much you have achieved. The whole experience has given me a new perspective on life’, says Rae. ‘I’ve also achieved my goal of losing weight and am now at 70kg (losing over 45kg) and my muscle mass has changed’. Still experiencing nerve pains and adapting to how the right side of the body is now the weaker side to the left whereas before the accident it was the other way. ‘Although it’s natural to want to be ‘normal’ you have to take time out and be truly grateful for how far you have come, especially after the initial diagnosis’.
