'I was paralysed in med school now I'm a Birmingham doctor providing care in a wheelchair'

A man left paralysed during his first year of medical school is now a qualified doctor providing healthcare from his wheelchair.

Xander Van der Poll, 25, completed his training at Bristol Medical School in May 2024.

During his first year, Xander broke his back after falling from a tree and was immediately paralysed from the waist down.

Despite the blow to both his physical and mental health, Xander has completed his studies and now works as a junior doctor at Queen Elizabeth Hospital Birmingham.

Xander, who was born in South Africa but raised in Stratford-Upon Avon, West Midlands, from the age of two, said: "I'm really proud of myself for where I've gotten to.

"I definitely felt the need to prove myself a lot but that just helped push me further."

Xander has wanted to be a doctor since he was five years old and chose specific GCSEs and A-levels to ready him for the seven years of training required.

However, a tragic fall towards the end of his first year at Bristol Medical School left him paralysed from the waist down.

Xander was walking his dog on May 24, 2018, when he fell three metres after climbing an oak tree.

He landed directly onto an exposed root and cracked his back.

After a nine hour surgery, Xander spent six weeks laying flat on his back in a hospital bed.

And on the final day of his stay, Xander took his end-of-year exams from his hospital bed - and passed.

Xander said: "It was definitely a tough six weeks as I was in a lot of pain.

"I also got cabin fever from not being allowed to move for all that time.

"But at the end of it all, Bristol Med sent an invigilator to the hospital and I was able to complete my first year."

It hasn't all been smooth sailing since that point as Xander has faced those who doubted he would become a doctor.

He said: "I actually had a bad experience with a Director of Paediatrics at a hospital I was doing a placement in.

"Despite not knowing me at all, they rolled out a long list of reasons why I wouldn't be able to be a Paediatrics doctor because of my injury.

"There were easy workarounds for every item on their list so I figured pretty quickly that they just didn't know what they were talking about."

Since then Xander has continued proving himself, showing others time and time again that there are often simple workarounds which make his job possible.

He said: "I figured out alternative ways of providing healthcare from my chair quite easily.

"Ergonomics is a key consideration.

"I make sure things are at the right height for me to be stable or be able to lean on my elbows for stability when performing procedures.

"Aside from that, as you can see from my CPR video, most things are just 'do this… but sat down'.”

Xander now looks forward to multiple foundation years before choosing his speciality.

He said: "I'm definitely leaning towards a speciality in paediatrics but we'll see where the journey takes me."

Outside of his working hours, Xander spends his time training as a canoeist and participated in the European Championships in Hungary during his final year of studies.

Xander said: "On the days I'm not working in the hospital, I'm out training.

"I'm aiming to attend the 2028 Paralympic Games in Los Angeles and I'm training with the GB team now."

Xander and his wife, Kirsty, who is an amputee, have set up their social media accounts (@ourchaoticadventure) to help show other disabled people how they adapt to live fulfilled lives with disabilities.