Stabbing victim takes ten steps unaided - four years after being told he'd never walk again (From Thisisdorset)
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Stabbing victim Nick Verron takes ten steps unaided - four years after being told he'd never walk again
8:00am Tuesday 1st January 2013 in News By Jane Reader
Nick Verron with his fiance Faith
A STABBING victim not expected to survive horrific injuries inflicted in Boscombe is enjoying a double celebration as 2013 dawns.
Nick Verron, who was stabbed in the brain with a screwdriver, was told recovery was “unrealistic” and that he would never walk again or live independently.
But the determined 28-year-old has taken his first unaided steps and has just got engaged.
His next target is to walk his bride-to-be down the aisle this year.
Nick was a 25-year-old top salesman earning £36,000 a year when he bumped into 17-year-old Jason Teelin in Roumelia Lane just after midnight in July 2009.
Witnesses heard Teelin threaten Nick before stabbing him and running away.
Doctors warned his family his life support machine may have to be turned off but he started to breathe unaided and has relentlessly pursued his dream of recovery ever since.
He recently walked five steps without assistance and was so shocked he did it again “to prove it was not a fluke.”
Nick, who now lives in his own bungalow, told the Daily Echo: “I am doing great - everything seems to be going brilliantly. Walking on my own was something I thought I was never going to be able to do.”
He said he hopes to marry his fiancée, Faith, late this year and added: “All you need in life is a little Faith - and I'm going to marry mine. She motivates me and constantly pushes my limits.
“She convinced me to go to Greece on holiday and when we got there not only did she get me on a boat but also convinced me to go snorkelling.
“We are going to Singapore this year so I can meet her family, then getting married. I want to be able to walk down the aisle.”
Nick's mum, Sue Vincent, said: “It has been a hell of a journey - he has hit the heights and the depths and has never given up, ever. If somebody tells him something is impossible, he will do it. He's always been like that.”
Sue said Nick constantly works out in a bid to build up his strength but said his sight, speech and balance are still badly affected by his injuries.
She added: “It is unbelievable that he has gone from where he was to such joy in life.”
Sue said he and Faith are “as mad as each other” and said: “They've been known to go to the supermarket together, Nick in his mobility scooter and Faith tied on the back on roller skates. They are so happy.”
• Teelin, of no fixed address, was jailed for seven years in April 2010 after admitting grievous bodily harm with intent.
Nick's story
- BT MAN FIGHTS FOR LIFE
- VIDEO: The attack that ruined my life
- Amazing anonymous gift helps clear Nick Verron's debt
- Nick Verron's mum 'gobsmacked' by Echo reader's kindness
- Screwdriver attack brings community together
- Echo readers are "a ray of light in a very dark place"
- Teenager guilty of vicious assault
- Giant step in Nick Verron's recovery
- How Nick Verron is fighting his way back to health
- Nick Verron to return to help Boscombe celebrate the changes
Comments(19)
Boredofthiscountry
says...
9:06am Tue 1 Jan 13
speedy231278
says...
10:28am Tue 1 Jan 13
nessie
says...
10:36am Tue 1 Jan 13
bosco1
says...
10:48am Tue 1 Jan 13
Amelia_40
says...
11:13am Tue 1 Jan 13
BournemouthMum
says...
12:17pm Tue 1 Jan 13
Controversial But True
says...
12:19pm Tue 1 Jan 13
Such a pity that this kind of story features so strongly in Bournemouth now, and more so, in Boscombe.
This has a happy ending at least, but should never have had to be a happy ending in the first place.
C'mon Council and police, let's clear this town up a bit!
spooki
says...
1:54pm Tue 1 Jan 13
OKANAGAN 1
says...
1:59pm Tue 1 Jan 13
CockleKate
says...
2:07pm Tue 1 Jan 13
BournemouthMum
says...
2:18pm Tue 1 Jan 13
CockleKate wrote:Maybe, but he will never prosper, never make anything of his life and never find peace. Karma.
The scroat who stabbed him got 7 years, so he'll be out in under 4. He should be banged up until his victim makes a full recovery.
Boscomite
says...
2:36pm Tue 1 Jan 13
O'Reilly
says...
3:50pm Tue 1 Jan 13
Don't forget: "iIligitimus non carborundum......"
mansak_hunt
says...
5:00pm Tue 1 Jan 13
Nick I hope you come back to the town after making a full recovery
much love to you and faith
MikeFrench
says...
7:55pm Tue 1 Jan 13
portia6
says...
11:55pm Tue 1 Jan 13
Nick and Faith have a great future
together! Happy New Year to all!
B.F.G
says...
8:09am Wed 2 Jan 13
nessie
says...
12:04pm Wed 2 Jan 13
Boscomite wrote:Never a truer word spoken mate to many youngsters these days look up to these so called heroes wither it is popstar reality show or footballers this young man and our armed services are the true heroes
This is the sort of person our youth should be looking up to. Not Katie Bloody Price.
tricky1007 says...
8:56am Tue 1 Jan 13