Meet Paul
After stubbing his toe, Paul broke his neck, revealing undiagnosed myeloma. Following treatment and stem-cell therapy, the 62-year-old is now in remission and taking nothing for granted.
I stubbed my toe and broke my neck.
- Paul, diagnosed with myeloma.
It takes you to breaking point. That’s why we fight for breakthroughs.
I broke my neck by stubbing my toe. Honestly, I thought it was just back pain.
I was 62, working part-time in a bakery, lifting a lot and thinking I’d simply overdone it. I tried physio, I was using heat patches, and carried on, I’d even climbed Mount Fuji on holiday narrowly avoiding being hit by lightning at the top!
But in October everything changed.
One Saturday morning at home, I stubbed my toe and suddenly this shockwave shot up my spine. I felt paralysed down both sides of my neck. You think breaking your neck would involve a parachute accident not going about your business at home. The ambulance came quickly, but I still walked into hospital on the Monday with no idea how serious it was.
After scans at Homerton, doctors told me something “irregular” had happened: stubbing my toe had caused a fracture in my C3 vertebra and revealed a lesion. It was myeloma: a blood cancer. Treatable, but not curable.
I was sent to Barts and started weekly chemo injections. The care was fantastic. By April I’d completed a stem-cell harvest, fifteen days in hospital, months of sleep and rebuilding strength afterwards.
In July, I was told I’m in remission. No bell-ringing ceremony, just quiet relief and an invitation onto a maintenance-drug trial. The bone marrow biopsy required will be painful, but if it keeps things in check for someone else in future, I’m in.
Find out what it takes
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