I was on holiday with my partner, Catherine, and her children in Taupo, New Zealand. On New Years Eve 2000 I went for a drive into town for who knows what reason (I can't remember). On the way back I presumably saw another car driving erratically towards me. In any case I drove to the edge of the road and stopped. They still managed to hit me head-on. It was a state highway and they were doing an estimated 100 km/h. They didn't see me, slow, or swerve before impact.

I suffered fractured ribs, sternum, arm, heel and was in a coma with a severe head injury. After eight days of coma I apparently awoke but was in Post Traumatic Amnesia (PTA)for a further 34 days. During the early coma period, the doctors expected that I would die (I have this in writing from a mistakenly forwarded hospital report were they explain why they didn't operate on the fractures).

I was on crutches for five months. What prompted me to get off them eventually was having an orthopaedic surgeon explain the advantages of amputation and the mobility you get with modern orthotics.

What was not apparent for a long time were the subtle effects of brain injury. My reduced mental sharpness is something I am still learning to deal with (and is still improving).

That is all I have to write because that is where I am now (1 August 2001).Good luck everybody

Email Carsten