Claire Hawthorn visits an old school friend determined to walk again

Andy Bell, a friend of mine, was on his way to visit a mate one day in May 2015. The weather was good, but as he rounded a bend, so did a car from the other direction and the two collided. The other driver was unharmed. Andy, however, lay
 in the road having hit the oncoming car’s windscreen. Andy had been riding a motorbike.

Andrew Bell, photographed by Michael Hughes

He maintained consciousness and was airlifted from the scene by the Great North Air Ambulance Service to Newcastle’s Royal Victoria Infirmary. His mum was in a speeding police car, escorted by officers who, at this point, were unable to tell her if her son had survived his accident.

He had – but was told he would never walk again. Yet Andy has undertaken pioneering treatment, enabling him to defy the odds and work towards one day proving mainstream medicine wrong.

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Read the full version in The Northern Correspondent #8