Paralysed man spends year writing letter of thanks

Three years ago, Leonard Mullin's life changed forever.

A fall down the stairs at his home in County Tyrone left him paralysed from the chest down with limited use of his limbs.

"I remember going down the stairs and the next thing I remember is waking up days later in hospital," he said.

Doctors told Leonard that the accident had caused an injury to his spine.

He said: "My injury means that my movement is extremely limited. The accident left me a quadriplegic.

"I get some flickers of movement in my legs and in my arms, but very little."

Leonard says he is thankful to be alive.

"I'm lucky to have good family," he said.

"Mum found me first and then my sisters came to my aid, and then my neighbours and they phoned the ambulance."

After the call to emergency services, the Northern Ireland Air Ambulance was dispatched.

The Air Ambulance is a charity that works alongside staff from the Northern Ireland Ambulance Service.

Leonard credits the Helicopter Emergency Medical Service that came to his aid that day with saving his life.

As an expression of his gratitude, Leonard decided to hand-write a letter of thanks to the paramedics that were there on the day of his accident.

While putting pen to paper is something most of us do without thinking about, for Leonard, every letter and word he writes is a battle.

He said: "I wanted to do something personal, something I could do myself, but it has been extremely challenging.

"I can only do so many words and letters a day and I have to use my left arm on days I am able to, but it takes up so much energy."

It has taken more than year, but writing a couple of words a day, Leonard finished the letter to coincide with the third anniversary of his accident which occurred earlier this week.

"Finishing this letter has taken so much out of me, to me it's like climbing the highest mountain, but now that it's done, it means everything to me."

The final paragraph of Leonard's letter reads:

"Please share my heartfelt thanks with everyone involved in my rescue. I will forever hold your team in the highest regard, with deepest appreciation, Leonard Mullan."

BBC News NI was there to capture the moment Leonard finished the letter and hand-delivered it to some of the paramedics that helped save his life.

Damien McAnespie from Air Ambulance NI said: "This is an incredible challenge that Leonard set for himself.

"He and his family should be very proud of what he has achieved."

Following the emotional scenes of Leonard handing over the letter, he said that he hoped his story might provide others with hope.

He added: "Finishing the letter feels like the best achievement of my life and words can't express my gratitude to the air ambulance and the ambulance crew.

"But I also hope it shows people that even if you have a spinal injury like mine, if you don't give up, you will be surprised with what you can achieve, just keep on going."