A routine bike ride through the Essex countryside turned into a life-altering chain of events for Simon Rogerson.
The now 52-year-old set off along trails in Danbury, Essex – a route he had ridden countless times with his son. But this time, against his wife’s wishes, he decided to go alone.
In a split second, disaster struck. Losing control of his bike, Simon was forced to make an impossible choice: crash head-first into a tree or throw himself to the ground.
He chose to jump.
The impact was devastating. He shattered his pelvis as his body slammed into the muddy track, taking the full force of the fall.
Incredibly, Simon managed to drag himself back to his car and drive home – and was stopped by a passerby who spotted he was in pain.
His wife, Michelle, found him collapsed at the bottom of their driveway, writhing in agony, and immediately called an ambulance.
What followed has been an ongoing medical battle, leaving him paralysed from the waist down. But it also saw him diagnosed with a brain tumour – that may have been found too late.
Simon Rogerson (pictured) is paralysed from the waist down after a bike accident and the diagnosis of a brain tumour. He remains in hospital as his family fundraise for an extension to their Basildon home and required equipment so that he can return
Simon, who used to coach rugby, picked up mountain biking as a way to connect with his youngest of two sons
Simon’s wife Michelle (pictured) believes the 2023 bike accident ultimately saved his life – while the decision to throw himself from the bike may saved him from a fatal collision
Since June 2023, Simon has been repeatedly admitted to hospital, battling sepsis, pneumonia and a series of severe infections affecting his hips, spine and other parts of his body.
During treatment, doctors made the discovery of a pituitary tumour near the brain. The condition would go on to leave the former carpenter blind in one eye.
Simon is now paralysed from the waist down and remains in Basildon Hospital, Essex, as his family fundraise on GoFundMe for an extension to their Basildon home and required equipment so that he can return.
He has been waiting for six months.
‘At the moment he cannot come home because the house is not big enough and we do not have the required equipment,’ Michelle, 57, tells the Daily Mail.
‘We won’t be able to get the wheelchair into the house and there is nowhere for him to sleep downstairs. We need an extension on the back of our house with a bedroom, a wet room and somewhere for hoists. There are a lot of things he is going to need.’
Despite the devastating toll on his health, the family believe the 2023 bike accident ultimately saved his life – while the decision to throw himself from the bike may saved him from a fatal collision.
‘If he had hit the tree, he would be dead,’ Michelle says.
During treatment, doctors made the discovery of a pituitary tumour near the brain. The condition would go on to leave the former carpenter blind in one eye
While cycling alone down trails in Danbury, Essex, Simon was forced to make an impossible choice: crash head-first into a tree or throw himself to the ground
Michelle believes Simon’s attitude, and support the family have received, are ‘massively to the credit of Basildon Hospital’
She continued: ‘Without that accident, he would be dead.
‘We would never have known about his potassium levels, and that would have killed him.
‘We also would never have found out about the brain tumour. If he hadn’t had that accident, we would never have known about any of it. He probably wouldn’t be here.
‘Everything happens for a reason.’
Simon, who used to coach rugby, picked up mountain biking as a way to connect with his youngest of two sons – ‘it was a big passion for him to do at the weekends,’ Michelle says.
After the incident, Simon was hospitalised for four days. However, when he returned home while waiting for his hip replacement, he started ‘swelling up’ and became worryingly bloated – and ‘just didn’t look right’.
After a trip to the doctors, he was given tablets for high blood pressure and sent home. He had no previous health conditions.
With symptoms persisting for a week, a family friend voiced concerns and Michelle took Simon back to the doctors, where they carried out an emergency blood test.
‘We got a call that evening from the hospital saying, “you need to get here now”, which we did,’ his partner of 25 years recalls.
‘His potassium was so low they didn’t know how he was still standing and hadn’t died. He spent a long time in intensive care because, as quickly as he was being give potassium, his body was losing it again.
‘He ended up with sepsis and pneumonia twice. He had problems with his hips and then one of the scans revealed he had a brain tumour, which we knew nothing about.’
Brain tumours can interfere with the body’s ability to regulate potassium, often leading to abnormal levels in the blood.
Simon was then readmitted to intensive care, where he suffered a severe nosebleed that ‘would not stop’, with blood ‘gushing out’.
He was discharged after four months in hospital and later returned to work as a contracts manager for a building company.
Following surgery to remove his brain tumour, and while waiting for a hip replacement, Simon’s eyesight began to deteriorate.
‘Basically, he has lost complete sight in his left eye and has between 25 and 35 per cent vision in his right eye,’ Michelle explains.
‘We then found out his tumour has grown.’
With further surgery scheduled for December, Simon was readmitted to hospital in November, suffering from ‘excruciating back pain’.
‘We couldn’t have the tumour removed because he had numerous infections going throughout his body. He also ended up getting sepsis again,’ Michelle says.
‘He was really poorly, probably the worst I have ever seen him. So we couldn’t have an operation on the tumour. We are still waiting for that because the infections have been too severe.’
The repeated infections – which have caused widespread damage, including to his spinal cord and hips – have left Simon paralysed from the waist down.
‘He has just had infections all over his body, and they are basically jumping from one area to another,’ Michelle adds.
‘It has caused damage to his spinal cord, his hips and pretty much everywhere. He also ended up with an infection in his heart.’
She continued: ‘He will never walk again.’
Simon has spent six months in hospital as he continues rehabilitation for his paralysis, while his family fundraise £20,000 for equipment and home renovations so that he can return.
He is also waiting for another surgery to remove the remainder of his tumour, which was left in place as it was pressing on his his optic nerves – with doctors previously concerned removal could leave him completely blind.
However, as it continues to grow, surgery has now been scheduled.
‘He is tough, really tough. He is a little Trojan, really. He is amazing. Obviously he is in pain, but he just gets on with it,’ Michelle explains.
‘He just sucks up. This is not what we thought our lives were going to be like. He says he is not the first person to be paralysed and probably won’t be the last. It is tough. I don’t cry at all while I am with him, I just do it when I come home.
‘He never moans about anything. Obviously the pain he has is excruciating, but he just gets on with it.’
She adds: ‘We have come to terms with our lives being very different to what we thought they would be, but it is not going to stop us having a life. We are still strong and can carry on.’
Michelle believes Simon’s attitude, and support the family have received, are ‘massively to the credit of Basildon Hospital’, adding: ‘From the cleaners to the tea lady and to the doctors. I don’t think we could have got through it without them.
‘Everybody has been absolutely amazing. They have saved his life. Without a doubt, they have saved his life twice. I have the utmost respect for the people on his ward.’
