A dad-of-two who was paralysed from the waist down in a horror crash four years ago has defied the odds by recovering to cycle a gruelling 100 miles.
Steve Cook came back from catastrophic injuries to complete the ride through London and Surrey.
The 56-year-old fought for his life after being hit by a car while riding his bike in August 2015.
He suffered four spinal fractures, punctured lungs, fractured ribs and a broken sternum. Despite spinal surgery, doctors told Steve he had a 0-3% chance of walking again.
But the former maintenance worker vowed to prove the experts wrong.
He said: “I was in such a bad way that paramedics didn’t even think I’d survive the air ambulance journey.”
Just 13 months after the crash Steve became the first Briton to attend the Neurophysics Therapy clinic in Queensland, Australia.
The pioneering treatment encouraged neurons in the brain to bypass the spinal injury and send his muscles messages through new pathways.
Within weeks Steve – a former time trial cycling champion – had regained feeling in his legs and was able to stand and walk slowly with crutches.
Last spring he appeared in the Mirror with Manchester bomb survivor Martin Hibbert, the second UK patient to visit the Australian clinic.
And after a second trip Down Under, Steve progressed to walking independently, using poles for balance, before setting his sights on returning to cycling.
He started off on a handbike, then began tandem cycling. Last year, he astounded family by getting back on a two-wheel road bike.
And on Sunday Steve, of Cleethorpes, Lincs, finished the Prudential RideLondon-Surrey 100, his furthest distance yet, in eight hours, 46 minutes.
He said: “I just hope it inspires other people not to give up. I was a bit tearful at the finish line, where my sons were waiting for me.
Cycling is now three times harder. I’m still paralysed from the knees down.”
His wife Louise, 51, a social worker, and sons, Charlie, 17, and Harry, 20, say they “couldn’t be prouder”.
Louise said: “Seeing him walk back into the house on crutches, after his first treatment in Australia, was one of the happiest days of our lives.”
