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BBC man thanks God he survived
By Chris Hastingsm Arts Correspondent
(Filed: 02/10/2005) Frank Gardner, the BBC reporter left paralysed after an attack by Islamic terrorists, says the horrific incident has increased rather than shattered his faith in God. In an edition of Desert Island Discs to be broadcast today, Mr Gardner, 43, the corporation's security correspondent, also reveals that he has contracted osteoporosis, a disease normally associated with the elderly. Doctors diagnosed the condition just days before he recorded the Radio 4 programme.
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Frank Gardner: 'I thank God for staying alive'
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Despite the continuing impact on his health Mr Gardner tells Sue Lawley, the programme's presenter, that his faith in God remains intact because he is aware that his injuries could have been so much worse. "I do thank God for staying alive," said Mr Gardner. "I thank God that my injuries were not worse. "I am the only person on the spinal injuries ward who can feed himself and get in and out a wheelchair. "The bullets were always going to hit somewhere but they missed my heart, my liver, my kidneys and my private parts. I have got away relatively lightly, so I thank God for that." Mr Gardner, who was shot six times at point-blank range in the Saudi Arabian capital of Riyadh on June 6 2004, says he has virtually given up hope of walking without the aid of callipers or crutches. "With paraplegia you have two choices: you can lie in bed and feel sorry for yourself and say 'No, I don't feel like doing physiotherapy today, I can't be bothered', or you can get up and try to think positively. "There is no light at the end of the tunnel. Paraplegia is a one-way street. It is not something you normally recover from. So you have to make the most of it and that is what I am doing. I have gone to things socially in the wheelchair and it is miserable. You are down there and all the conversation is 2ft above your head. So I will make a great effort to be on my callipers or on a frame." Mr Gardner, whose music choices include the theme to James Bond films and Pure Shores by All Saints, provides a harrowing account of the shooting that nearly cost him his life. The father of two also speaks movingly about the impact the attack and his subsequent disability has had on his family. He recalls the moment his parents, who heard about the shooting on the television news, were reunited with him at the Royal Free hospital in north London. "I was all tied up with tubes. I was emaciated. I was jaundiced. I was a pathetic sight. I remember saying to them, 'I am so sorry'." The former investment banker said it would be nonsense to suggest that the accident had not fundamentally changed him as a person. "I have learnt a lot of patience and humility," he said. Desert Island Discs will be broadcast on Radio 4 at 11.15am today. |