Man overcomes serious injuries to become a doctor

A man who has overcome his life-changing injuries to become a doctor has said it is "never to late to follow your dreams".

Paul Edwards, 32, graduated as a doctor from the University of Bristol in July - a milestone that almost never came after he was left with catastrophic injuries when he was knocked off his motorbike at the age 17.

This meant he had to delay his A-levels and halted his university ambitions by more than a decade.

Fast-forward 16 years and, despite living with debilitating pain, Dr Edwards has graduated in front of his proud parents Charlie and Denise and girlfriend Aesha.

It was not just his injuries that Dr Edwards said he needed to overcome.

He grew up in Lawrence Weston in Bristol where only about 15% of students at his secondary achieved five GCSEs, with an even lower progression rate to higher education.

He set his sights on studying medicine at the University of Bristol and - prior to the crash - and was accepted on to the now obsolete government Gifted and Talented programme, which sought to help talented students from disadvantaged backgrounds.

But, as he was completing his A-levels in October 2009, his life changed forever when a car overran a junction and collided with his motorbike.

He suffered catastrophic injuries: both thighs were broken, his neck and back fractured in several places, a lacerated liver, head trauma, and multiple other injuries.

After spending years in recovery, undergoing multiple surgeries and battling constant pain, he tried several times to complete his A-levels, but he was too unwell.

His situation was made worse by a "dangerously" high amount of painkillers which was considered best practice more than a decade ago.

The opium drugs meant he struggled to stay awake and on several times his mother called 999 because his breathing had deteriorated to dangerously low levels.

In 2014, five years after the crash, Dr Edwards had what he calls his "sink or swim" moment.

With the support of his GP, he 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'."

After enrolling in an Access to Higher Education course at City of Bristol College, he completed the equivalent of three A-levels in nine months.

In September 2020, more than a decade after the crash, Dr Edwards was accepted to study medicine at Bristol.

Despite his "endless and debilitating" pain, 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."

At university, he said the Disability Support Team has done so much to help him.

"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," he said.

"It's an incredible feeling to finally finish my course."

He now hopes to train to be anaesthetist and support other people with their pain.

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