'A falling man broke my spine but didn’t break me' - Lives Less Ordinary podcast, BBC World Service

Dr Grace Spence Green believes her time spent recovering from a serious spinal injury was the best placement to make her a better doctor. Click here to subscribe to our channel https://bbc.in/3VyyriM In 2018, then a medical student, Grace Spence Green was walking through an East London shopping centre when a man jumped from the third floor. He landed on her and broke her spine, leaving her paralysed from the chest down. As Grace went through recovery, the hospital became a place of discomfort and dependence where she felt out of control. Through many difficult but also joyful moments, Grace slowly shifted her perspective, both on medical care and disability. When Grace returned to everyday life, she quickly understood that the world isn’t built for those with disabilities, and she had to learn how to react to other people's comments and questions. She returned to medical school and reached her goal of becoming a doctor, perhaps a better one than she might have been before. Dr Grace Spence Green has written a memoir about her experiences called To Exist As I Am. 00:00 Coming up on this episode 01:00 Intro 02:00 The incident 04:00 Grace’s life 06:52 The recovery in hospital 12:30 The spinal injury 15:43 The rehab unit 22:16 Preconceptions on disability 26:11 Being a disabled doctor 27:34 Everyday challenges 30:45 Answering back to rudeness 32:37 The man who jumped 37:00 How the injury changed relationships with family and friends 38:00 The one place where I feel completely comfortable 40:00 Outro Producer: Andrea Kennedy and Florian Bohr Presenter: Asya Fouks Video producer: Beatrice Guzzardi Watch more from Lives Less Ordinary on our YouTube playlist 👉🏽    • Lives Less Ordinary   ---------------- This is the official BBC World Service YouTube channel. If you like what we do, you can also find us here: Instagram 👉🏽   / bbcworldservice   Twitter 👉🏽   / bbcworldservice   Facebook 👉🏽   / bbcworldservice   BBC World Service website 👉🏽 https://www.bbc.co.uk/worldserviceradio Thanks for watching and subscribing! #BBCWorldService #WorldService #gracespencegreen #disability #disabilityawareness