The Guardian – October 5, 2017
I opened my eyes to see a clear blue sky and two men leaning over me to put a brace around my neck. I don’t know if I was already on the stretcher or if I was still on the pavement, but then there are plenty of things I don’t remember. As I would find out later, I had a brain injury.
Was I badly hurt, I asked. I felt as though someone had smashed a plank of wood across the left side of my face. The two men on either side of me carefully lifted my upper body to finish fitting the brace, giving me a view of my legs. I wiggled my left toes, which were more obliging than my lips. It couldn’t be that bad, I decided. My spinal cord still worked.