Scottish dad faces being permanently bedbound after freak accident
Ross Fraser from Stonehaven suffered a freak accident in 2007 when he slipped on stairs.
Last updated 21st Jul 2022
A Stonehaven dad says he faces being immobile as he continues to fight a spinal injury sustained 15 years ago.
Ross Fraser, originally from Inverness, suffered a freak accident in 2007 when he slipped on stairs at his North-East home.
He was bedridden after the incident, but had become more mobile in recent years.
However, due to being allergic to one of the ingredients in his painkillers he's decided to stop taking them, leaving him in agonising pain.
He's desperate to keep raising awareness on autism while he can move, which may only be for another year.
Injury "getting worse over time"
Ross explained how his injury wasn't common.
He said: "I landed with my neck and coccyx at the same time.
"If you imagine taking a stick and putting pressure on both ends at the exact same moment.
"That’s exactly what’s happened to my spine.
"My spinal injury is getting worse over time, it’s degrading."
Painkillers provide more 'negative effects than relief'
Ross also outlined how long he feels he has before being permanently bedbound and how the painkillers aren't "worth it."
He added: "It's hard to tell, but there is a chance I'm looking at a year or two, purely because of the pain and reduced mobility over time.
"Hopefully I’m going to find a painkiller that will allow me to do this for another couple of decades, but I don’t know what’s going to happen.
"That’s the hard thing about it.
"It really isn’t worth it. I get more side negative side effects than I do relief.
"I decided that it wasn’t worth putting myself through that and I would go without.
"It does mean battling against extreme levels of pain every day.
"To the point where I feel very dizzy and blackout.
"It’s hard to focus.
"It is really daunting, but I think if you allow yourself to feel all the trepidation and fear of something like that then it freezes you up and you don’t do anything."
Passion for autism awareness
He regularly raises awareness of autism through his social media pages, which have been widely shared across the world.
Ross says he's desperate to increase his online profile to help others with the condition.
He said: "It’s not just a distraction or something to keep me going.
"It’s a passion that burns inside me. I don’t want my life to repeat, I want autistic people to have a chance.
"To be able to communicate without it being dismissed."
His Facebook page "My Life Autistic" can be accessed here