Background to Andrew's story
Andrew Penman (now 38) was struck by a car near the
Canton Road Bridge in Cardiff in the early hours of the morning on Sunday, March
the 5th 1989. The damage to his body was considerable, but more seriously he
received a massive blow to the right side of his head which left the doctors at
the hospital in Cardiff coming to a conclusion that he probably wouldn’t
survive, and that if he did survive, that he would be massively handicapped and
very unlikely to recover.
Andrew has recovered from a traumatic accident which had initially left him
truly brain damaged. His ‘long and winding road’ has been a story of
determination and resolve, but clearly one of natural healing.
After a ‘night on the town’ and one in which he now happily admits that he had
been drinking far too much, Andrew was hit head on by a car which then ploughed
into a nearby bus shelter taking Andrew with it. To this day, Andrew has no bad
words for the driver who had tried to avoid hitting him. Andrew had in fact
attempted to run back to the pavement, only to be hit by the vehicle which had
swerved in order to avoid him. Today, Andrew looks back and says that his life
was in tatters and freely admits that he used to drink far to much and also
take, more or less, any drugs that were offered to him.
He was a ‘soft touch’, and in his own words, ‘easily led’ to the demon drink!
His current lifestyle could not be more radically different than the former. An
active member of the local community, Andrew is involved in Aikido, Tai Chi and
Chi-Kung the three non aggressive martial arts which have helped (with a wide
range of healing techniques) to get well once again.
Andrew is determined that his recovery will be 100 per cent, and it is not
difficult to imagine that this will be the case, having spent time talking to
him about his healing experiences to date.
After the accident, Andrew was completely unconscious for four and a half weeks,
and seriously injured. After weeks of intensive care and the reduction of
massive bruising, broken ribs and brain damage, he was left paralysed, unable to
see, and unable to speak or recognise anyone.
As a youngster, Andrew loved sport, in particular rugby and played centre,
initially for Llandaff Rugby Club and later on for that infamous Rugby outfit
the Cardiff C.Y.A.C.S. In his working life Andrew was a builder/brick layer, a
strong young man who depended on his excellent co - ordinative skills to help
him both work and play.
Prior to his accident however, and in his own words Andrew admits that his life
was on the way down. ‘I was into drugs and booze in a big way......I had a flat
in Cathedral Road, and I used to spend most of my time in city centre pubs
drinking with my mates......I really had no direction in life.’
Incredibly, he feels that the accident has actually done him a massive
favour....by giving him something to focus on, something to overcome.
He still likes his Rugby.....watching these days, and of course he never misses
an international, but prefers the comfort of his own flat. The days of booze and
drugs are long gone.
Once unable to walk or speak....Andrew can now ‘walk for miles’, (unless he’s
fasting.....part of a weekly cycle of health and exercises) and as the writer
can testify......he can talk the hind leg off a donkey!
He puts his remarkable progress down to determination and a Buddhist spiritual
faith backed up by his regular disciplines of aikido and tai chi which he openly
reports as being ‘therapeutic to the brain’.
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