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Search forComa survivor Daniel is a 'walking miracle'
Friday, November 21, 2008, 09:30
Daniel Cannell suffered such horrific injuries that, at one point, doctors gave him 24 hours to live.
Despite that, the 27-year-old has made such a good recovery that this week he was able to return to his mum's Hinckley house.
His family are delighted he will be home for Christmas, calling him "a walking miracle''.
A motorbike crash last June left him with two punctured lungs, serious head injuries and numerous broken bones.
The experienced track racer was in a coma for three weeks after colliding with a van outside the Axe and Compass pub, at Wolvey, near Hinckley. The van driver was unhurt, but Daniel ended up in a ditch after being thrown 20ft into the air.
He left Walsgrave Hospital, in Coventry, on Tuesday.
He said: "I'm going back to live with my mum for the time being while I'm still getting used to the outside world. I'm excited, but at the same time I'm dreading leaving hospital, as it has been my only home for the past six months.
"It was just nice to know my family and friends were always there for me and, in a funny way, the doctors and nurses have been my family recently.
"I can't move my right arm from the elbow, but I've got to have another operation on that.
"In terms of my memory, it depends on the person. I can't remember the two-and-a-half years I spent with an ex-girlfriend. It could take 10 years or 10 months or it might never come back."
His mum, Lorraine Cannell, 48, of Walcote Close, Hinckley, said: "Daniel is a walking miracle, his bones were all mashed up. It's lovely he's coming home, it's been a long time.
"He is a bit scared and nervous about it and he keeps telling me he's sorry for what he put me through.
"We'll all have a bit of a do for him when he's feeling a bit more adjusted. I knew he would pull through. The people at Walsgrave put him back together again.
"His personality has completely changed since the accident and it has given him a bit of a kick up the backside.
"It was only five years ago he lost his Dad. It just makes you appreciated the people around you."
Daniel's dad, Carl, 44, died in an accident in 2003 while on a family holiday in Turkey. His mum suffered serious injuries when their Jeep veered off a cliff. Daniel's sister escaped unharmed. He was in Hinckley when the crash happened.
Matt Costa, Daniel's orthopaedic surgeon at Walsgrave, said: "Daniel suffered threatening injuries in a horrific accident six months ago.
"The fact that he has pulled through is a testament to his hard work and to that of the staff at University Hospital, in Coventry.
"I am incredibly delighted to see him make such a remarkable recovery – Daniel is an example to us all."
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