"What have YOU done today to make you feel proud?" Heather Small (2000)
"What have YOU done today to make you feel proud?" Heather Small (2000) |
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4th March 2002 |
Back on the road to recovery: Steve Tarrant by Miya Knights
Steve's world was turned upside down as he was carrying out his marshalling duties with colleague, Andy Carpenter on 24 June 2000. He and Andy were involved in a head-on, 140mph collision with a 1968 Lotus F1 whose driver, John Dawson-Damer, was killed instantly. Both Steve and Andy sustained serious injuries, which only Steve subsequently survived. However, in doing so, Steve's life had been irrevocably changed. His dedication to making as complete a recovery as possible had already brought him a long way by the time Unisys News met him, just after he had returned to work in a wheelchair. At that time, he was fighting to have his disability status re-assessed so that he could apply for charitable help to lease a specialist mobility vehicle. Steve brings us up to date, saying: `The Department for Works and Pensions (DWP) had granted me temporary disability entitlement for two years, but I needed to be certified disabled for a minimum of three years in order to be eligible for a leased disabled car from the charity, Motability. So, after having had the DWP accept my appeal to have my disability allowance extended from two to four years, I took delivery of a dual-control Ford Focus automatic in February.' As a self-confessed `petrol-head', Steve had his car fully customised in the red and blue livery of last year's World Rally runner-up, Colin McRae and has had rally trims, alloys, metal footplates and themed accessories, including his lucky mascot, added to it. This has guaranteed that Steve is often recognised wherever he goes. He continues: `My car is a one-off. When I drive it everyone knows it as mine, from family, friends and colleagues to boy racers on the motorway, who are quite impressed by it. I cannot get any downward motion in my right leg, so I use the hand controls that are linked to the foot pedals, and it took me about a day to get used to driving it. `The car has helped me regain my freedom. When you've driven and then had the privilege taken away from you, it can be very frustrating because your ability to be independent is lost. But, since I've had the car, it has all come back to me at a stroke. It is particularly useful because I am now able to drive my wife, Jackie to the tracks where she still acts as a marshal, while I can be a spectator anywhere I like on the course. In fact, my first big journey was a 50-mile round trip to the race track at Thruxton.' Steve's new-found mobility has also enabled him to attend this year's Post 5 marshals' annual dinner at Brands Hatch in March. As the home track of Andy Carpenter, the marshal who died in the same accident that affected Steve, it was a particularly poignant occasion. He comments: `Several marshals, who were also colleagues of Andy's, took the time to stay in touch with me during my recovery, so they invited Jackie and I this year. They were pleased to see me back on my feet again and there were a few green and envious looks as I drove into the car park as well!' Steve's car was the centre of attention again at the
Donington Park Mobility Show on 20-22 June, as it showcased some of the fastest
road cars driven by disabled drivers, while Steve had been invited as a guest of
honour. His car was shown alongside the likes of a TVR Griffith 4.3BV and a
Porsche 996, both driven using hand controls. He explains: `The Mobility show
was great. Various cars and their drivers were available to show the public
around the vehicles and answer any questions they may have had. One chap has
done 202mph on the Autobahn in his converted Porsche! I also met the stuntman
Eddie Kidd, Para-Olympic gold medallist Tanni Grey-Thompson and motoring
television presenter, Vicki Butler-Henderson. `I also ended up doing four radio interviews with BBC Radio's Yorkshire, Southern Sound (Brighton), Derby and Nottingham stations. A couple were pre-publicity ones for the show, but I was approached to do a couple during the show too. Little did I know that the BBC Nottingham interview I did the evening after the first day of the show was actually broadcast to the entire BBC Midlands coverage area, which has some eight million listeners! I was really proud to be able to help as this year's show attracted more visitors and press coverage then ever. It all goes to promote understanding of disabled capabilities, which are often a lot greater than we are given credit for.' Since May, Steve has also been able to regain some level of participation in marshalling (despite being prohibited from any pit lane or trackside access according to UK marshalling association regulations), operating the siren that warns of approaching vehicles in the pit lane at Thruxton. And his wife, Jackie is embarking on a two-year course to become involved with the rescue crews that so often minimise the consequences of a crash through their rapid response, paramedic skills and cutting equipment. Steve says: `Not many people want to do the job I now have at Thruxton, but I am happy to do it, as it keeps my hand in. Jackie likes it because it means she can keep an eye on me while she flag marshals, and she is also looking forward to becoming fully qualified to be part of the rescue team. She says it is her way of saying "thank you" to the team that saved my life.' Steve also had the opportunity to thank his wife for her support since the accident, planning a surprise off-roading weekend for her 40th birthday, as well as a party and an intimate dinner for two of them. `The fact that I could arrange all of these things for Jackie, including driving her to Castle Combe for her course, showed me how much progress I had made since last year.' However, in April Steve had to return to hospital for yet another operation. He continues: `I had been using walking sticks to get around since January, but was in a lot of pain with my left knee, whenever it was twisted. I had to have some of the cartilage removed in an operation where the doctors also fiddled with my ligaments to give me greater mobility at the knee and ankle. I am in a lot less pain now and was on home leave for the first two weeks following the operation, followed by two weeks in a wheelchair and now I'm back to using the sticks. `I have found that my general speed of recovery has increased as my health has become better, and I have been slowly increasing the amount of days I work to the point where I'm now full time again just in time for the second anniversary of the accident. I love exercise and so my next challenge is to return to the weight I was before the accident, particularly as I have my own physiotherapy exercises to do at home and am back to using just the one walking stick now.' In bringing us up to the present day, Steve concludes by thanking everybody, including former Abbey Life employees in particular, for helping him through the past two years, saying: `This has allowed me the opportunity to come through the darkest days and find the life I can still live on the other side.'
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NEWS
When Unisys News featured an article about Bournemouth based
Unisys Insurance Services Limited (UISL) PC data telecoms support engineer,
Steve Tarrant last year, the story of his courage and determination to return to
work following a tragic accident at the Goodwood Festival of Speed encouraged a
lot of positive feedback from our readers. As a result, we revisited Steve just
after the second anniversary of the day that changed his life to find out how he
was coping on the road to recovery.
