Dad, 53, whose family were told by doctors to say their goodbyes after he fell 30ft off a roof breaking nearly every bone in his body makes a miraculous recovery – despite 8 weeks in a coma and catching Covid
- An ex-roofer from Manchester gravely injured himself while fitting TV antenna
- Ian Locke, 53, was temporarily paralysed and flown to hospital by air ambulance
- His family was told to say their goodbyes before he made astonishing recovery
A father who almost lost his life after falling from the roof of a house has shocked shocked doctors with his miraculous recovery.
Ian Locke, 53, from Tameside, slipped from his friend’s roof while attempting to fit a television antenna to the property in September 2021.
The ex-roofer had been walking on top of the Wythenshawe house when he realised he was slipping and attempted to flip himself over to stop the fall.
However, the move did not save him and he fell 30ft to the ground, breaking nearly every bone in his body, and doctors told his family to say their goodbyes to Ian, who had previously undergone a successful lung transplant.
But despite being in a coma for eight weeks and contracting Covid-19, he has pulled through and is set to be discharged from hospital, although it’s likely he will be left permanently disabled by the accident.
A Tameside dad who almost died after falling off a roof has spoken of his horrific ordeal. Pictured with his wife Caroline
The father was placed into an eight week coma and spent months in hospital since, recovering from the accident
Discovering that his arms has been snapped in ‘two places’ the dad also found that he was temporarily paralysed.
Talking to the Manchester Evening News about his ordeal, he said: ‘When I landed on the floor, I told my mate I couldn’t feel my legs. I was that confused, I didn’t know where I was.
‘I knew I had a problem because I couldn’t move.’
After Ian’s friend had dialled 999 and called for an ambulance, the situation had deteriorated.
Ian revealed he thought his daughter saved his life after she was allowed to visit him. Ian pictured in the hospital
Ian was bleeding heavily from his mouth and it would have taken an estimated one hour and 40 minutes for the ambulance to arrive.
With this in mind, emergency staff decided to airlift him to Manchester Royal Infirmary Hospital.
While there, Ian’s family were told by doctors that his chances of survival were slim and he received multiple blood transfusions.
The ex-roofer’s daughter, Sharelle, was allowed in to say some final words to her father and give him a kiss goodbye.
Describing her visit as one that saved his life, Sharelle wiped blood from his face while surgeons were still working to curb his bleeding.
At the time, he told his daughter: ‘I’m not going nowhere. I’m like a machine’.
After incredibly pulling through, doctors placed Ian into an eight-week-long coma, during which he described ‘terrible dreams’ while drifting in and out of consciousness.
‘I kept seeing things and the things I kept seeing played on my mind. I was watching this big dream myself.’
When Ian awoke, he couldn’t move anything apart from the very tips of his thumbs and finally learnt the full extent of his injuries.
His ribs were broken and had pierced a previously transplanted lung, his bones had come through his skin by his wrist and shoulder, his pelvis had been completely shattered and his arm was broken.
His back was also broken in several places and his hand had been crushed and he required a lung transplant.
After making his miraculous recovery, a bout of Covid-19 saw Ian moved to Trafford General Hospital where he is currently waiting to be released home from the Covid ward in three weeks.
When he returns, it will be the first time he will have seen his family since the accident after spending his birthday and Christmas alone in the ward.
Doctors say Ian could be disabled for the rest of his life and the journey to a full recovery will be a long one, but his spirits remain high.
Explaining that he’s simply grateful to be alive, Ian said: ‘I’m not going to sit there sulking because I can’t go out or stand up in my own living room.
‘I’m going to cherish every moment with my kids, my grandkids, my Mrs and my mum.’
A Go Fund Me has since been set up for Ian by a friend, in order to buy him an electric wheelchair when he returns home.
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