What it’s like to have a mind

May 26, 2024

On an ill-fated day in March 2017 James Johnson crashed while paramotoring, a sport that involves strapping a propeller and parachute to a go-kart and flying up to 10,000ft in the air.

When Johnson, then 43, woke up in a hospital, he thought his life was over. The nurse and father of four had broken his neck, leaving him quadriplegic. He would never walk again, he was told. “Why did you let them resuscitate me? Look at me!” he recalls telling his wife. “I was in this headspace where you just can’t focus on anything other than what you can’t do.”

Six years on he requires round-the-clock care. He has very limited movement of his arms and no use of his trunk, legs or fingers