STUART McMILLAN’S STORY

I hope that what follows is a readable, informative and perhaps entertaining look into my life.

If it's none of these, at least I will have allowed you to while away a few minutes. You will probably gather very quickly that I'm not naturally gifted when it comes to writing, so please make allowance for my poor grammar!

Having been enthused as a young child by my father's tales of motorcycle Cafe Racing in the 60's, it didn't take a great leap of imagination to see where my passions lay. Biking was very much in my family’s genes. In later years we would attend the Isle of Man TT races as a family on our motorbikes.

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I always harboured a desire to race having watched Steve Hislop, Carl Fogarty, Kevin Schwantz, Wayne Gardner and Wayne Rainey racing at the TT and in 500 GP. I raced for a few years at club level in the Scottish championship on a Yamaha 350 and a Honda 600. My journey to a wheelchair via A & E could have started a great many years earlier than it did, when my racing career was cut short following an accident at East Fortune in May 2001.

I was violently high-sided at about 60mph, colliding with my own bike!

While racing at East Fortune I was exiting a corner called ‘Snake’ in 3rd gear. Accelerating hard I registered that I was now looking back up at my Honda 600, having been rotated through 180 degrees forward off the front of the bike. The thought crossed my mind

‘I think I can save this!’ shortly followed by the realisation that I wasn't going to!

Initially it was feared that I had broken my neck, but thankfully it was nothing more than substantial bruising and a concussion. Mrs McMillan put her foot down however and forbade any further bike racing shenanigans as we had a 6 month old daughter to think of. So that ended my foray into the world of motorcycle racing and cleared the path for Valentino Rossi to dominate unchallenged in the MotoGP championship!

After this I was confined to using a motorcycle purely for commuting and pleasure. Over the next few years I had a number of bumps and scrapes which led to a brief hiatus in which I got all ‘sensible’ and bought myself a sports car to try to kick the biking bug.

‘‘This stand-up wheelchair, purchased by funds from the UK Oil and Gas Offshore Chaplaincy, will help enable me to work in my kitchen without having the place adapted.

Unfortunately the sports car didn't tick all the boxes, it just wasn't a motorbike! So I managed to convince my long-suffering wife that I desperately needed to get back on two wheels.

At this time, I was employed offshore in the North Sea by Apache North Sea Ltd. I was based on the Forties Delta. I don’t want to bore you by offering a potted history of my time offshore, but I feel that I need to give you some background as my time as an offshore employee was brought to an abrupt end on March 15th, 2017.

During my field break I was faced with the choice of going to the gym in my BMW Z4 or on my beloved Ducati Diavel. This dilemma ended up having huge implications. It was the first sunny warm day of what was shaping up to be a fantastic new year and with new tyres on my bike, it was handling fantastically. So I chose the bike. On returning from the gym I thought I’d take the scenic way home, which unfortunately resulted in a collision with a car on a winding road. My resulting injuries were a broken right thumb, 6 broken ribs, a collapsed right lung, bleeding on both lungs, a broken right femur, open book pelvic fracture, a fractured pelvis but most seriously, a T6-7 spinal injury, which has rendered me paraplegic.

I now have no feeling from the chest down. My life and the lives of my loved ones have changed inextricably. My house is still to be adapted, but at least I don’t need to add moving home to the list of monumental life changes I’ve already imposed on my family.

All the things which I loved doing; working in my garage with my son, mountain biking, the gym, long walks with my dog, all these things are no longer an option for me.

During my time at the spinal injuries unit however I was given new things to try which will supplant my old hobbies, such as sailing, swimming and hand biking. I am due to take part in the Inter-Spinal Unit Games at Stoke Mandeville in April. There will be swimming, archery, table tennis, rugby, basketball, rowing and athletics. Plenty to do!

I’m not letting this beat me. Yes, my life has changed but it hasn’t stopped. I don’t know what the future holds for me, but one thing is certain, I will never set foot on an oil platform again. For those of you reading this who are one week into a threeweek trip might think that’s no bad thing, but believe me I would never complain about working 3/3 if I could change things. One thing I will sorely miss about being offshore is the sense of community. Part of that community is the UK Oil and Gas Offshore Chaplaincy, which sadly I have to confess, I knew nothing of. The Chaplaincy was set up in the aftermath of the Piper Alpha disaster and the Chinook disaster to provide support for the families affected by the loss of loved ones. The Chaplaincy still provide support to oil workers and the families of oil workers who have had misfortune bestowed upon them. Having contacted the Chaplaincy they have kindly supplied the necessary funds for me to purchase a stand-up wheelchair.

This chair will enable me to work in my kitchen without having the place adapted. There are also many health benefits from standing, so this chair will be a major benefit for my future well being.

Have a safe 2018. Wishing you all the very best!

Stuart

If you have an interest in new activities like sailing, swimming or hand-biking the please get in touch with Spinal Injuries Scotland and we will help you get started.

Travelling as a wheelchair user can be challenging and extremely rewarding at the same time. This led me to create my own travel and disability blog focussing on accessible travel and life experiences. I share accessible travel guides, accommodation reviews, travel tips, live event reviews and more.

My most memorable trip from last year was a city break to beautiful Barcelona for four amazing days. When we landed I caught a glimpse of the sunshine and I could tell it was going to be a fantastic trip. It felt good to leave rainy Scotland and arrive in sunny Barcelona!