DJ, 45, who suffered 28 broken bones after ‘sleepwalking’ off hotel balcony 80 feet up says he is ‘lucky to be alive’ after waking from coma
- Paul Cartwright fell four storeys from hotel balcony while on holiday in Malta
- He suffered 28 broken bones and over two weeks in an induced coma
- He was airlifted back to Kings College Hospital in London at a cost of £20,000
- Says he is lucky to be alive after suffering internal bleeding and cracked ribs
A DJ who suffered horrific injuries after ‘sleepwalking’ off a balcony 80 feet up while on holiday said he is ‘lucky to be alive’ after waking from a coma.
Dad-of-two Paul Cartwright suffered 28 broken bones after plunging four storeys from his hotel room in Malta where he was celebrating his 45th birthday with his girlfriend.
Paul’s last memory was ‘having a good read’ and smoking a cigarette on the balcony before plummeting onto the concrete four storeys below.
His fall left him with a fractured neck, a smashed pelvis, a broken femur and foot as well as internal bleeding and cracked ribs.
Dad-of-two Paul Cartwright suffered 28 broken bones after falling 80 feet from his Malta hotel room. He was celebrating his 45th birthday with his girlfriend
Paul’s last memory was ‘having a good read’ and smoking a cigarette on the balcony before plummeting onto the concrete four storeys below
In the fall from the balcony he fractured his neck, smashed part of his pelvis, broke his femur and foot and also suffered internal bleeding and cracked ribs
Paul, a DJ on London-based radio station MuusicFM, said his girlfriend Danielle Hickey found him after getting up in the middle of the night.
He spent two-and-a-half weeks in an induced coma after his fall on Thursday August 15.
Paul was finally airlifted from Malta back to Biggin Hill airport last Saturday, racking up an air ambulance bill of more than £20,000 on the way.
Speaking from his bed at Kings College Hospital, London, Paul said his ambition is to learn how to walk again unaided – and he has started a fundraiser to help with rehabilitation costs.
He said: ‘I was having a good read and that’s all I can remember.
‘I was out on holiday with the love of my life and bosh – it could happen to anybody. I’m lucky to be alive.’
Paul believes his history of sleepwalking caused the freak accident.
The dad of twin girls, who turned 10 on the day he landed back in the UK, said he was not drunk and would not self-harm.
He said: ‘I love my girls. I’m happy – I’m alive to be a dad to my beautiful daughters.
Paul takes a picture on the tarmac of Malta airport before he flies home on an air ambulance
Paul was finally airlifted from Malta back to Biggin Hill airport last Saturday, racking up an air ambulance bill of more than £20,000 on the way that will be partially covered by his travel insurance
‘They have been my guiding light through this.
‘I told myself I am not going to die like this and they kept coming into my mindset.’
But he has not lost his sense of humour, despite his injuries and having part of his bowel removed.
Laughing from his hospital bed, he said: ‘I’m a Marvel superhero now.
‘I had never even broken one bone before this….but now I’ve broken 28 in one go.
‘I told my friends I survived because I’m ginger and from all the beatings I have taken.’
Paul, of Downham, south east London, has been unable to walk since the accident, and will spend the next five or six weeks in hospital
Paul, of Downham, south east London, has been unable to walk since the accident, and will spend the next five or six weeks in hospital.
Medics have warned him it may take years for him to recover fully.
Paul said his ambition is to learn how to walk again and he has started a fundraiser to help with rehabilitation costs.
He hopes his travel insurance will cover some of the air ambulance fees, and he is now asking for financial support to help his recovery.
He added: ‘I can’t believe how many kind words and good will messages have been sent to me and my family.’