We have so many wonderful visitors to the tide every day and we love learning about and hearing your stories, but a few months a go we got a message from a gentleman called Trevor Milne – asking if he could come along for a climb whilst his friend made a documentary about him – we were and of course happily agreed for Trevor to pop along! A few weeks later Trevor appeared in the centre, eager eyed and ready to climb!
Lauryn got Trevor kitted up with his harness and helmet and then he hit the walls! Starting on some of the easier routes with Lauryn belaying him, every other sentence was ‘this is too easy!’ So, Lauryn made him climb harder and harder, but he was still flying up!
Whilst chatting to Trevor and what his documentary was about, we found out something amazing – just 12 months prior to Trevor being in the centre, he had been in a serious accident that left him in an induced coma for 3 weeks and in hospital for almost 5 months!
We asked Trevor to tell us more and he kindly wrote this brilliant piece for us, about his journey and how staying active, especially with activities like climbing have helped him to recover!
“BEFORE THE CLIMB CAME THE FALL..
In early June of 2021, after a long day working on location as a sound engineer in London, I was sitting on the windowsill where I would take in the late evening air and message friends, but something happened that I was expecting, and I fell out of the window…It was one storey high. Several hours later in the dead of night I was found by the homeowner who had rented me the room about a week or so before. I had previously been advised not to sit on the window ledge where I fell…
Of course, I didn’t make it to work the next day – I was rushed to hospital and later put into an induced coma that lasted about 3 weeks. When I woke up I was broken and confused, wondering where I was and how on earth I had got there. It took more than a few weeks to realise what had happened.
The fall resulted in bleeding on the brain, a cracked skull, brain damage, my right hand needing to be rebuilt, a metal rod inserted inside (a bit like Robocop!), a fractured pelvis, and a fractured eye socket which meant seeing double.
When I came out of the coma, at a request from my parents, I was transferred from London to Plymouth yet my outcome was still unknown. I stayed there for a bit and then transferred once again to a neuro rehabilitation unit where I stayed for several months. All in all I was in a hospital environment for about 5 months.
INTRODUCTION TO CLIMBING
Years ago I had been working in the United Arab Emirates at an outdoor activity centre instructing international school children. I was employed by the centre as a scuba diving Instructor as they would often provide snorkelling as well as other trips for the kids. But we also had a climbing wall on site. The climbing wall kick started my enthusiasm for climbing, and in my free time I would go with other staff members trying to find climbs that were listed in the climbing guides. – Although it was very hot out there, a lot of the climbs were shaded which proved to be a huge advantage (and maybe why my climbing pals chose them!)
THE LOSS OF A FRIEND
Back in December 2015, while I was visiting a girlfriend in Amsterdam, a work colleague contacted me to inform me of the sad loss of Jack, one of my UAE climbing buddies. He had lost his life in a tragic climbing accident and had died on his way to hospital. I had climbed in roughly the same place with Jack a couple of weeks previously and the climb we had done was a traditional one and had an HVS (Hard Very Severe) rating.
AFTER THE FALL COMES THE CLIMB.
Before my accident I had been getting my life on track. It had been a life full of adventure, travelling and the general lifestyle of a young outgoing man looking to carve his way in the world. Having a history of performing in a band in my younger days, I managed to land myself a job doing sound for broadcast.
It felt great and finally seemed like things were going my way. It had been a long time coming and I was looking forward to saving for a house and getting stuck into a new life. I was enjoying climbing too and I had become a member at The Tide, attending regularly with friends. I really enjoyed how the climbs change frequently, but they are there just long enough so you can almost master the climb which you previously might have found difficult or even impossible!
NEVER GIVE UP
I’m writing this “blog” post as both a personal account to help my recovery and document my progress and also, I truly hope, as a beacon of hope for anyone who might be in a similar situation or a parent who’s scared for their child. Not all similar stories end well, certainly in the first days and weeks of my accident the outlook was bleak and terrifying for all those close to me.
One of the journeys to recovery was returning to climbing, something I have loved and enjoyed for a long time. It was so nice to be welcomed back to TIDE and given a chance to get back on the walls.
THE ONLY WAY IS UP
In Cornwall in 2022 I decided to see if my body could withstand climbing once again. It was my first climbing experience since my accident and I was a bit nervous at first (as expected!) I was unsure how I would perform as I was a bit concerned about the grip on my right ‘robocop’ hand. All went surprisingly really well indeed. I usually find it much easier to ascend than descend, but I had a belayer (Lauryn) so the descending was not a problem at all. We started off gently and I found it super easy to be honest. For me, test one was complete. We did several climbs starting off on easy ones and getting progressively more difficult. One climb was a bit too difficult for me and I didn’t make it all the way up, maybe because of the grip/hold. I completed the next climb in a slightly wobbly fashion but I accomplished it. By the end of the session I was super stoked, also super knackered both mentally and physically as you can imagine.
I was delighted when I contacted the kind people at Tide Climbing because I wanted to put together a documentary with Tom, a good friend of mine who is very experienced in this field. I would like to include climbing amongst other activities.
I can’t thank the kind people at The TIDE Climbing Centre enough for helping me out with such a great experience and making it as safe as possible. There are no limitations, only possibilities.”
We are hugely inspired by Trevor’s story, his perseverance and dedication to keep doing what he enjoys has been amazing to be a part of. We really look forward to welcoming Trevor back to the Tide again, and hope his story helps to inspire all of us, to live everyday doing the things we love – and to climb to our hearts content whilst we can!
