Man paralyzed in lawn accident back on feet thanks to help from sports stars

By Georgia Lambert and Brad Harper via SWNS

A businessman left paralyzed following a "freak accident" while raking his lawn has been helped back on his feet by two sports stars.

Darren Bovis, 54, lost the use of his legs shortly after feeling a pain in his back while gardening at his home in Whistable, England, in June 2020.

Two days later, he struggled to get out of bed, and soon realized that he was paralyzed from the waist down.

Mr. Bovis spent the next six months undergoing intensive rehabilitation at Stoke Mandeville Hospital in Buckinghamshire.

Now Kent-based golf pro Warren Bennett and England Test cricketer Joe Denly have teamed up to raise £80,000 ($109,000 USD) for a high-tech exoskeleton to get him mobile again.

Mr. Bovis said: "I was doing some gardening before Father’s Day, and felt a pain in my back, so a few days passed and on the 21 June, a disc went in my spine which caused a compression.

“Instead of something cool like a shark bite or fighting off 25 people, it was just a freak accident which left me paralyzed.

“I had an operation at King's Hospital in London and spent the latter part of 2020 in rehab."

Despite his hard work, the keen cricketer and golfer feared he would never be able to walk unaided again.

"I enjoyed life on the hamster wheel like everyone else but after my accident, my life was bleak.

"But what has come out of this is the friends who have backed me - it's actually reunited my old life with my new life down in Whitstable, and the support network I have gives me strength every day.

"I'm a very positive person but when your life gets turned upside down, it can be a very dark place and for the millions of people in this world, being on your own with something like this is very lonely, but I have to keep going.

"The hardest thing people with spinal cord injuries have to do is get out of bed and get ourselves going for the first hour and a half in the morning.

"The only way people will ever understand what we go through is if a cameraman were to follow us around 24/7 24/7 because no one can understand the tears behind closed doors.

"I'm not asking for sympathy, I just wish there was a better understanding."

At the beginning of his journey, Darren decided to use calipers to help him walk but found there were few practitioners who could help him, so he decided to offer himself up as a guinea pig so National Health Service staff could learn how to use the walking aids together.

The hospital then recommended the ReWalk machine to the mortgage company owner, which is a state-of-the-art bionic exoskeleton made in Germany.

Although expensive, Darren has been forking out £3,250 ($4,434) a month to rent the machine which has elevated his rehab to new heights, giving his body the chance to build strength and balance when walking.

Referring to himself as "vertically challenged" instead of disabled, Darren wants others to appreciate the strength it takes to live with a spinal injury.

He said: "When people see me in the machine, they have no idea about the effort and strain to the path that got me to where I am today."

Mr. Bovis, who has always been heavily involved in the community and served as the captain of Chestfield Golf Club in 2018, has been undergoing therapy using the ReWalk machine at the site.

He said: "I can't thank them enough for how much they've helped me. They have 400 members and for the first time in 100 years, they are raising money for a member, rather than a charity, so I feel very lucky."

Golfer Warren Bennett is a good friend of Darren's and as well as playing golf together for years, the pair have spent their time together raising money for different charities.

He said: "Warren was on the European Tour for many years and is now a golf professional at the club.

"He now gives up two hours of his time every day to help me get stronger.

"But crucially, once you have the machine, if you don't have a support network around you, you won't have a good chance at getting better. The greatest commodity you can give anyone is time and these guys at the club give it to me every day."

After just three weeks, Darren noticed a dramatic change in his condition, and one day, when showering, he noticed that he could feel the water hitting a small section of his knee.

Speaking about that day, he said: “ For the first time since it happened, I could feel a part of my body – a patch on my right knee which is about the size of a one pence piece – which has now developed into a £2 coin. The only thing I have done differently is use the Rewalk machine, so I need it."

However, the machine does not come cheap, and to buy it outright would set Darren back £80,000.

To help with the costs, his pals, including England cricket ace Joe Denly, launched a fundraiser to generate £80,000 to ensure he can continue to use the ReWalk and the monthly fees will be deducted from the price of a brand new machine.

Darren has known Joe since he was a young boy and saw him grow up through the ranks of Whitstable Cricket Club.

Known to many as "Dazzy B" Darren was overwhelmed with the support he has received.

The Kent batsman shared his support for the fundraiser on Instagram.

He wrote: "This is my good friend Dazzy B. His life was turned upside down in 2020 when he suffered a severe compression to his spine leaving him paralyzed from the waist down.

"Darren has found @rewalk_robotics and his team @darrenbovisrewalking are trying to change his life by raising £80,000 to get him this incredible machine!

"Please take a look, share, and donate wherever possible. Daz has been a family friend for many years and he is one of the most optimistic, kind, positive, funny gentlemen I’ve had the pleasure of meeting.

"He is of course part of the cricket family playing for many Kent league clubs none more so than @whitstablecricketclub where he had many great years.

"Please help spread the word guys, thank you so much."

In the future, Darren and Warren hope to set up a foundation to make the ReWalk machine and other resources more accessible for people suffering from spinal injuries.

In the meantime, Darren is literally taking it one step at a time to reach his goal of being able to stand upright again.

He said: "Soon, I'll be able to give Forrest Gump a run for his money - in fact, I'll give him a headstart of the first two yards."