The last song that Peter* heard on the radio as he drove towards the place where his life would change on that cold, wet Wilshire winter day, was ‘Another-One Bites the Dust’ by Queen. Little did he know that this would be the last song that he would dance to. Fast forward a couple hours, and he was strapped to a board going to hospital in a slow moving ambulance accompanied by police and followed by his parents.

Peter is one of the most inspirational people that I have ever met. Paralysed at the age of 22, he lives a productive and happy life despite not being able to do many of the things that most people take for granted. One wrong landing at a sports session was all that it took to sever his cervical nerves and leave him tetraplegic for life. Having said this, when I think about Peter, I remember him as a man with a disability rather than a disabled man.

I must admit that I had preconceived ideas about the type of person he would be before I met him. I was briefed that I was going to meet a tetraplegic man who had had an accident when he was young, 15 years ago. I immediately thought of darkness, blacks, greys and browns, as I have tried to portray in the darkened portrait with shade covering Peter’s face. I do not think that I am as strong a person as Peter is and has been throughout his life. If I were to wake up tomorrow and be told that I would never walk again, never be able to hold somebody or feel many things, I think darkness would overwhelm me. Peter on the other hand, seems to have come to terms with his disability extremely well. One might argue that he has had 15 years to get used to it, however, he talked of other people he had met who were ruined by their disabilities and proudly states that he knew he was never going to be one of them.

From the day of his accident all the way until the day of creating this piece, Peter has continued moving even with his immobility. The piece that I created is trying to show a range of different things.

The face depicted in the painting is masculine, strong and confident. He is not a weak man and even though all that can be seen is his face, you can tell that this man has stature, vigour and power. The dark colours that shadow his face are related to my preconceptions that he would be a man clouded in depression with a sense of vulnerability and frustration. These preconceptions come from what I unfortunately feel I would be if I were in his position. When you see Peter, these are the immediate emotions that come to mind. I have only drawn his head because this was what is most significant. Even though he had no control over any of his muscles below his neck, he was still human, still a living, breathing man. His world was in his head, his face full of so much emotion, his lack of body language compensated for by a huge range of facial expressions. Any artist’s ideal muse.

The swirl of colours I have created i intended to portray his world and how all of it stems from his head, his brain, his mind. The intricacy and the brightness of the colours symbolise his positivity and optimism in life. These colours contrast with the immediate view of darkness that an outsider gets upon first meeting Peter. As I have said before, when I first reflected upon Peter, I immediately thought of the grimness. However, upon deeper reflection, I realize that the more that he talked, the more that he opened up, the more light I saw. This is why the colours become brighter further away, with the brightest colours, the blues and reds, being on the edge of the painting. As soon as he opens his mouth, the colours flow out, this is why I have used watercolour paints, because I thought that these would show the fluidity and smoothness to the best. The inspiration, poise and elegance. This is what I refer to as the solar eclipse of the eye. As the planet moves past the sun the light once again pours through and we can be blinded by its brightness. The use of coloured pencil on top of the paint was to add another dimension to the painting, to add complexity and make it more convoluted.

After meeting Peter I question the need for our body at all. When I think about it, I would much rather have a working brain in a broken body than a healthy body with a hindered brain. It would be ridiculous to say that Peter seems to be unchanged by this condition as every aspect of his life has of course been effected. He sat unable to answer his mobile which was ringing less than a meter away during the visit, however his immense adaptability, understanding and acceptance seems to trump any obstacles that he has faced. Peter’s work life, family life and self-image have all been affected, however, one could argue that they have all improved since his accident. At the time when it happened he was a happy, single, working man. Since the accident he has been married, fathered children, done his GCSES, A levels, and acquired higher education.

When I reflect on how he has touched me personally, I feel as if the world is my oyster, there are so many things that I am able to do and he has given me a sort of confidence I never thought I would have. Determination and constant effort seem to be more important to succeed in life than mobility does. I must admit, I went into this home visit with the naive idea that mobility was a really big part of life.

* name changed to maintain patient confidentiality