Imagine just going about your day, walking through a busy shopping centre, and suddenly everything changes in a terrifying flash.
That’s exactly what happened to Grace Spence Green, a young medical student who was only 22 when her life was turned upside down by an unimaginable accident.
She was at Westfield Stratford in east London, enjoying a normal day, when an intoxicated man suddenly jumped from a third-floor balcony.
The man fell 120 feet and landed right on top of her, crushing her spine and leaving her paralysed from the chest down.
The Moment That Changed Everything
Grace’s next clear memory was waking up on the floor, terrified and screaming because she couldn’t feel her legs.
“It was surreal — like waking up when you thought you were already awake,” she recalled in a Radio 4 interview.
She described the space around her as bathed in a brilliant white light, almost dreamlike, like something out of a movie scene.
She was unconscious for around eight minutes.
When she came to, the shocking reality hit her immediately: “My first thought was this brilliant white ceiling, then my second was, ‘Oh my god, I can’t feel my legs.’”
She remembers screaming at nearby police officers, desperately trying to communicate the terrifying numbness she felt — like her legs simply didn’t exist anymore.
The Road to Recovery Begins
Grace was rushed to King’s College Hospital where she underwent a long, eight-hour spinal surgery.
Titanium rods were inserted to stabilize her shattered vertebrae.
After two weeks, she was transferred to the Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital in Middlesex.
There, the real battle began — nights filled with the painful struggle of trying to move even a toe, learning how to live in a wheelchair, and slowly coming to terms with a completely new reality.
Finding Strength Amidst the Struggle
Nearly seven years later, Grace has documented her journey in a deeply personal book titled To Exist As I Am.
Now 29, she reflects on the trauma but also the unexpected growth she’s experienced.
“I wouldn’t change a thing,” she told The Mirror.
Over time, she’s come to appreciate how her injury transformed her relationships and her outlook on life.
Remarkably, she harbours no bitterness toward the man responsible for the accident, Amsumana Sillah Trawally, who was later jailed and deported.
Grace finds some peace in the thought that her injury may have saved his life.
“That helped me handle the complex emotions I was going through,” she explained.
Despite everything, she has learned to embrace her new life.
Love and Support Through It All
Throughout her recovery, Grace credits her partner Nathan as a constant source of strength.
The two have been together for three years and are planning to marry soon.
“It always felt like we were in this together. It wasn’t just my burden to bear,” she shared.
Just 10 months after the accident, Grace returned to medical school.
She graduated in 2021 and has since started her career as a doctor.
Even in her darkest moments, she never considered giving up her dream to work in medicine.
Using Her Story to Inspire Others
Today, Grace hopes to use her experience to inspire others with disabilities.
She speaks out about the stigma and the daily challenges many disabled people face, including micro-aggressions and insensitive remarks.
“Disability is still such a taboo topic,” she says.
But by sharing her vulnerable story, she offers a rare chance for people to listen, understand, and change their perspectives.
Her book To Exist As I Am: A Doctor’s Notes On Recovery And Radical Acceptance is available now through Wellcome Collection.