Oil rig diver was told he would never walk again, but defied the odds

Jul 20 2008 By Lesley Roberts

OIL rig diver Dave Morrison's life was shattered the second a car smashed into his body.

Dave was crossing a road in Abu Dhabi while on shore leave in the United Arab Emirates when he ended up in a coma.

His head injuries were so severe doctors feared he would never make it - and at times Dave even wished he'd been killed.

His family were told Dave would be paralysed - if he came round. But five years on Dave has a top job, works out at the gym, runs 10k races and does parachute jumps.

Now he has been nominated as a Great Scots Unsung Hero.

Dave, 39, said: "Doctors measure the coma on a scale and the lowest reading for survival is three - that's what I got."

A fellow diver gave Dave the kiss of life as he lay on the road. A doctor stopped to help and the nearby hospital specialised in head injuries.

But by the time his family flew in from Inverness, Dave was fighting for life and his left side was paralysed.

Dave said: "I was out of it for 25 days. When I came round, I'd been flown to Raigmore Hospital in Inverness.

"Friends and family played me music and read out letters and emails. I remember my mum saying, 'David, you've been hit by a car' but I just thought I'd be back at work soon."

Dave was never to dive again because of a punctured lung and he lost the job he loved.

He said: "On down days, I wished the car had hit me harder."

Intensive therapy helped him into a wheelchair but he was determined to walk and live independently.

Dave said: "Physiotherapy finally got me putting one foot in front of the other again."

His amazing recovery continued and Dave now lives in Aberdeen and works as a recruitment co-ordinator for the oil industry.

Less than two years after his accident he ran the River Ness 10k and raised s3000 for Headway Highland, a charity dedicated to helping those with brain injuries.

Then he raised more than s2000 by doing a parachute jump.

Last year he reached the national finals of the Headway Achiever of the Year award.

Dave said: "I'm lucky - my life is not over. You can just lie there or you can come out fighting."

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