He was left with catastrophic injuries after being knocked off his motorbike when he was 17, putting on hold his A-levels and ultimately delaying his university ambitions by a decade.
Fast-forward 16 years and, despite living with debilitating pain, Paul has graduated in front of his proud parents Charlie and Denise, girlfriend Aesha, close friends and tutors.
It wasn’t just his injuries he needed to overcome. Paul grew up in Lawrence Weston where only around 15% of students at his secondary achieved five GCSEs, with a very low progression rate to higher education.
Encouraged by his parents and supportive teachers, he set his sights on studying medicine at the University of Bristol and – prior to his accident - was accepted on to the now obsolete government Gifted and Talented programme, which sought to help talented students from disadvantaged backgrounds.
Paul was focused on completing his A-levels when the devastating accident meant his life, quite literally, hit the brakes.
He was just two minutes from home when a car overran a junction on a drizzly evening in October 2009. Paul collided with the car at 30 mph and suffered catastrophic injuries: both thighs were broken, his neck and back fractured in several places, a lacerated liver, head trauma, and multiple other injuries.
Paul spent years in recovery, undergoing multiple surgeries and battling constant pain. Despite trying several times to complete his A-levels, he was too unwell. Dreams of going to university faded into the background. Opioid medication kept the pain at bay, but left him sleeping all the time.
In 2014, five years after the accident, Paul had what he calls his “sink or swim” moment. With the support of his GP, Paul weaned himself off opioid medication. He said: “I remember my GP saying, ‘You can either stay on these drugs and be stuck here, or come off them and find out what life might still offer you’.”
Paul began volunteering and enrolled in an Access to Higher Education course at City of Bristol College, completing the equivalent of three A-levels in nine months.
In 2017, Paul was offered a place to study neuroscience at Bristol, choosing the course partly because of his own head injury. But midway through his degree, the pandemic hit—and changed his perspective.
Like many others, Paul saw the strain COVID-19 placed on the NHS and felt compelled to help. “My sister is a paramedic, and my GP and consultants were so amazingly supportive during my recovery from my accident. I realised I wanted to help. I wanted to give back.”
In September 2020, over a decade after his accident, Paul was accepted to study medicine at Bristol.
Studying while living with complex regional pain syndrome — a condition where pain persists long after injuries have healed — was no small feat. Paul describes his pain as “endless and debilitating” as a “constant 4 or 5 out of 10.” Yet rather than let it hold him back, he’s found ways to live with it.
He said: “I use over-the counter painkillers to treat the pain and I do lots of activity including endurance running and triathlons. I know I’ll be in pain anyway, but I would rather be active and in pain, than sedentary and still in pain.”
Paul credits much of his academic success to support from the University. He said: “The Disability Support Team has done so much to help me, giving me extra time for assessments, access to staff lifts, and on-campus and in placement parking. Those little things add up to make a huge difference.”
Paul, now aged 32, recently completed his elective period of study in anaesthetics and will soon begin his foundation doctor training at an NHS hospital on the Isle of Wight. As a self-professed people person, Paul was drawn to anaesthetics because of the human element. He said: “You’re the last person someone sees before surgery, and the first one they see after. It’s an incredible responsibility.”
Inspired by his time at Bristol working with academics, Paul also has ambitions in medical education, hoping to one day help shape how the next generation of doctors are trained.
“I owe the university a lot regarding my success,” Paul adds. “I have been incredibly well supported, and I really appreciate everything the staff have done for me. They really help you achieve the absolute best you can be. I count myself lucky to have met so many wonderful people along the way, who are now absolute friends for life.
“Who knows, maybe the accident was part of a bigger plan – directing me to a path of becoming a doctor. I want to let people know that anything is possible if you are determined enough. It’s never too late, and Bristol is a great place to be.”
Professor Chrissie Thirlwell, Head of Bristol Medical School at the University of Bristol, said: “Paul’s had to overcome so much in his life to get where he is today. Despite these challenges, he has never given up. His sheer determination, resilience and dedication is truly inspirational. It is wonderful to see him graduate today. We are so proud of him and know he will make a brilliant doctor.”