A young dad left paralysed after choking on a piece of toast has regained movement in all four limbs.
Calvin Cheyne, 28, was admitted to hospital for a routine operation on July 18, 2024, to treat agonising headaches from a Chiari Malformation – caused by a bulge in the back of the brain that puts pressure on the spinal cord.
However, complications would arise post-surgery after the father, from St Fergus, near Peterhead, choked on his toast, causing his lungs to collapse and sending him into respiratory failure.
Calvin spent 22 weeks on life support, with his devastated family called to his bedside three times to say their final goodbyes after doctors feared he would not survive. Speaking publicly for the first time, the former offshore ROV pilot has recalled the moment his life changed forever.
View 5 ImagesHe spent 22 weeks in the ICU(Image: Supplied)
He told the Record: “I thought I had nothing to worry about it, so I didn’t do too much research into it. I put my life into someone else’s hands.
“The neurosurgeon said everything went fine but it all went wrong when one of the nurses gave me a bit of toast in the morning because I was hungry. I wasn’t meant to be given any food and then I choked and it went into my lungs causing them to collapse and into respiratory failure.”
Calvin spent almost five months on life support before eventually being transferred to a spinal injuries unit for another four months.
View 5 ImagesHis wife stood by him while he was in hospital(Image: Supplied)
“They didn’t think I was going to survive,” he said. “They called my family three times to come in and say their final goodbyes. I can’t imagine how they must have felt.
“I have no memory of that time. I only remember going in for the surgery because I was in and out of a coma and on so much drugs, which was probably a good thing.
“Against the odds, I survived, but the life I returned to was completely different from the one I’d left behind. In an instant, everything I had planned for my future was turned upside down.”
View 5 ImagesCalvin on his wedding day(Image: Supplied)
Doctors warned Calvin, who has battled sepsis twice, meningitis and a suspected stroke since leaving hospital, that he would never move below his neck again. However, after his family raised more than £100,000 to fund specialist rehabilitation, stem cell treatment and intensive physiotherapy, unavailable through the NHS for his spinal cord injury, he has begun to regain movement.
“I was told I would never be able to move anything from the neck down,” he said. “However, we started fundraising for stem cell treatment and physical therapy and my condition had improved dramatically.
“Although I can’t walk or stand up, I now have movement in all four limbs. Without those donations, I would never have received the therapy and my stem cell treatment and I would still not be able to move anything from the neck down. It’s remarkable.”
View 5 ImagesCalvin and his daughter Emily pre-surgery(Image: Supplied)
Calvin has travelled to America for of rehabilitation and has recently returned from Colombia after further stem cell treatment. He is also beginning intensive physiotherapy at the Matt Hampson Foundation in Leicester.
Despite his progress, everyday life remains a struggle. His family are now hoping to raise £18,000 through GoFundMe for an Exoquad – a wheelchair-accessible all-terrain electric vehicle that would allow Calvin to spend more time outdoors with his wife Stefanie and daughter Emily.
He said: “I can’t spend long in my electric wheelchair because I’m in a seated position and the vibration off the pavement sends pain up my nerves. I can only use it for around 30 minutes at a time.
“An Exoquad would change all of this. It allow me to create memories with my little girl and wife by taking them to the beach or on walks with the dog. It will give me a lease of life that I never believed I would get back.
“I still can’t believe what has happened to me but it’s all about making the best of living life how it is now and adapting. Regaining some freedom by spending more time with my family outside, would mean the world.”
To donate to the GoFundMe, visit the page here.
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