A paralyzed man in a vacation accident has a heartbreaking regret despite incredible feats

At 17, Henry Fraser has it all: he was the ideal student, a great sportsman and was about to start his last year of school.

But in a split second, everything changed when he was paralyzed from shoulder to shoulders.

Now he can only move his face and neck – but that did not stop him from reaching the pinnacle of his new pbadion – the art.

Now 27 – and still unable to move anything under his shoulders – Henry says the 10 years since the accident have been among the "best of my life".

And he won an army of fans with his amazing paintings, including JK Rowling and his childhood hero, Jonny Wilkinson.

His stunning paintings are all created without the use of his hands and arms and are of incredible complexity.

Here is his incredible story …

Henry was looking forward to a sunny vacation with his friends, but it was a disaster from the start.

First, he discovered that his pbadport had expired two months after arriving at the airport to board.

Henry had to travel directly to Liverpool to get a new pbadport, then pay £ 200 to join the rest of his friends on vacation.

But on the fifth day of his break, a mundane swim in the sea tore his world apart.

Henry, former rugby academy player, Saracens, said: "I've only been fleeing the beach and diving into the sea. I remember being bumped my head against the seabed, I clearly misjudged my dive.

"I opened my eyes to see that I was face down, floating in the sea, arms hanging in front of me lifeless, I could not move anything from my neck.

"Never in my life I was afraid of anything until that moment when I was surrounded by the silence of the sea that pierced my ears, completely helpless, thinking that That was what I wanted to do to save myself. "

Fortunately, one of Henry's friends was nearby and dragged him to the beach.

Two former rugby coaches who had received first aid training and were trying to keep him calm were waiting on the sand.

Broken heart, one of Henry's first thoughts was not for himself but for his friends and for the holidays that he had had ruined.

He was taken to the hospital by ambulance and then flown to a larger hospital in Lisbon, Portugal.

X-rays were taken and doctors placed 5 screws in each side of Henry's head in order to fix a pulley system suspended by weights.

He severely dislocated his neck and the doctors hoped the weights would bring his neck back.

But there was a problem – because he had been an accomplished sportsman, Henry, of Hertfordshire, had too many muscles in his back and neck and the weights had no impact.

To date, Henry's parents have gone to Portugal and have been around his bed 24 hours a day.

The 17-year-old first contracted pneumonia and then MRSA, but other bad news came out.

Henry was also suffering from heart failure and had to have a pacemaker to try and regulate his heartbeat.

He said, "A mixture of illness and panic about my situation meant that I almost never slept, so much pain and fear was too strong, and it was then that I had many dark thoughts that went through my head but I regret never having thought that way. "

Two operations followed to bring his spine back into alignment and he was finally able to return home to the United Kingdom.

Henry said: "My memory of Portugal will remain in my memory for the rest of my life, and it was said that my spine had been severed and my condition would not improve from that moment, look back now and see that this is one of the things that pushed me through everything.

"It was also the most emotional moment of my life and I could not have gone through it if my parents were not there beside me or without some cards sent by the families of the boys who were with me. vacation ".

Henry's first memories of being back in the UK were the black ceiling of the intensive care unit that would be his home for the next few weeks.

He suffered several brutal outbreaks of MRSA and whenever he had to be transferred to the treble department, he seemed to experience a further setback.

Henry admits that the night was the worst because he could not stop his thoughts and made troubling dreams.

Once again surrounded by his family, with his brother coming every weekend after studying at the university, Henry was finally removed from the intensive care unit two weeks later.

In the treble department, he finally had a window and could see the light for the first time in weeks.

Henry said, "We could open a window and let fresh air in the room, it was so great.I could finally inspire as much as I could while being under ventilation. "

And then came a real moment of progression, Henry's feeding tube was removed and he was able to eat mashed food.

Determined to get out of the hospital as soon as possible, he also started thoracic physiotherapy so he could remove his ventilator.

But there was one last hurdle that the teenager had not had to deal with – he had not seen what he looked like now.

Previously, athletic and fit, Henry was torn and healthy.

He said: "My physio put me in the chair with my oxygen tank attached to my tracheostomy.

"Since I had not been sitting properly for so long, all the blood was running down my legs, making me extremely dizzy and hard to stay awake.

"Once my physiotherapy was adjusted, my body took me to the hospital with my mother and one of her visiting friends.

"Mom tried to drive and it ended up being like a game of bumper cars, with the walls.

"It was great to be around and see parts of the hospital that we heard about but I did not see. It was great.

"It was until we went out and we were going through the entrance.

"The main entrance consisted of two giant glbad doors and I could finally see myself for the first time in almost two months.

"But what I saw is not me. It is a razor-thin young man who looks lost in his cumbersome wheelchair.

"There was a tube in the throat that helped him breathe and he could not move.

"I had to take a twofold look to make sure that it was me, I had lost almost four pounds of weight."

It was then that the enormity of what had happened struck Henry and he collapsed.

He said, "After the departure of my mother's friends, my mother and I went back to my room, and that was when everything hit me, and I broke down.

"The reality of what would be the rest of my life was shown to me in this reflection.

"I was just crying on my mother's comforting shoulder, I just wanted to be able to hug her in. The rest of the day was difficult and I was not there." 39; mood to see visitors.

"When my dad took my mom to his car that night, the events of the day hit me one more time.

"I broke down again, with uncontrollable tears, repeating," Why me? Why me? ".

"I was going again when my dad came back and it was on my father's comforting shoulder that I cried this time, I just wanted to take him in my arms."

As devastating as this moment was, it was also a turning point for Henry and he knew that he would need all his strength to ensure that his life was as fulfilling as possible.

He said: "It was a day I needed and a chance for me to let go of what was a lot of the accumulated emotions.

"Once my dad left, I stayed awake in bed until dawn, even my sleeping pills could not send me back this time.

"That's when I thought," It's no use being sad or angry, I do not have to blame anyone for what happened. I can also continue with that. "

"For me, that day gave me what I needed to really move on."

At just 17 years old, he was transferred to the pediatric ward and his day of discharge – February 10, 2010 – was decided.

But Henry had one last thing to do before leaving the hospital: he wanted to be able to get by in a wheelchair.

He said, "Personally, going on the electric chair for me gave way when I knew I could do more.

"It did not work well in the hospital, but deep within me, I knew I could do it and I knew what I wanted."

He worked extremely hard with the physios and the day of his departure, Henry realized his dream – with some failures.

He said, "I had to show everyone there, to prove to them that it could be done, and I achieved that goal.

"The best way to show them that it was possible was to get out of the hospital, the day I left, that's exactly what I did, it was the best message I could send.

"It was until I reached a small slope and my lack of arm control made me roll straight into the middle of the parking lot.

"It took a bit of shine, but I think I understood my message."

Upon his return home, "he's bored", he developed his new pbadion for the art.

He used an iPad and a stick in his mouth to browse the apps that interested him and find one for the art.

His family helped build a special bridge and his first drawing was that of golf superstar Rory McIlroy.

And he has not stopped since.

Not only that, 13 months after the accident that could have spoiled his life, Henry went back to school and finished high school.

Then comes an offer of employment from Saracens, where he had been a player, and he is now an accomplished speaker.

He even appeared on the Jonathan Ross show after publishing a book on his experience.

A beautiful painting – one of his – of him in his wheelchair facing the sea is on the cover. It's a moving message of hope.

Henry said, "There were so many moments before my accident that I took for granted.

"I look back and I think" if I knew it was going to happen, I would have done so much more. "

Ten years after the devastating accident that could have killed his life, Henry is now a popular artist and author, inspiring thousands of people around the world.

And as he says "the last 10 years have been the best of my life".

• To follow Henry on Instagram, click here.
• To follow him on Twitter, click on right here.
• To buy The Big Little Things, click here.
• To pre-order The Power In You, which will be released later this year, click here.
• For the Henry Art Website, click here.