A Last Act Of Love

Fiance’s head was ripped from his spine Miraculous survival, kept on life support Four days wed, then left a widow

- Danielle Whitfield

Tears slid down my cheeks, my heart shattering, as I said goodbye to my fiance Tony.

‘I love you,’ I wept.

It was September 2014, and we were preparing to turn off Tony’s life-support machine.

The day before, police had called to tell me he’d been in a car accident. His car had hit a speed bump, and spun out of control before wrapping around a telephone pole.

Tony had been resuscitated at the scene.

I raced to the Royal Victoria Infirmary, where doctors had horrific news. Tony’s skull had been ripped from his spine. Now only tissue and muscle were holding his head on.

Scans showed there was no brain activity.

‘It would be kinder to let nature take its course,’ the consultant said, suggesting withdrawing Tony’s life support.

His mum Pepsi, 58, sisters Lisa, 36, Kirsty, 33, and Kayleigh, 19, and I gathered round his bed, all sobbing and saying goodbye.

Only, before his life support was turned off, Tony’s eyelids suddenly flickered open…

A miracle!

‘My Tony’s a fighter,’ I told baffled doctors.

Still, his injuries were catastrophic – the worst the doctors had ever seen.

Surgeons reattached his skull to his spine using a metal plate and bolts.

But Tony’s chances of survival were still low, and doctors warned he’d be brain damaged.

‘He’s unlikely to survive the weekend,’ one told us.

But he did…

Loyalty

Day after day, Tony kept surprising everyone. But, while he wasn’t brain damaged, he was paralysed from the neck down. He’d never walk, eat or talk, and would always need life support.

We were all distraught. But we resolved to give Tony the best life we could.