Four years after an accident left him paralysed a Barnham man defies the odds to attend his brother’s wedding

Marcus Wodehouse, 64, was left in need of full-time domiciliary care and extensive physiotherapy treatment.

But now he has defied the odds to attend his first social outing.

Marcus proudly attended his brother James Warner’s wedding day at the Oxo Tower in London, marking a family affair that no one thought would be possible 12 months ago.

As a former managing director of a multinational logistics firm for over 30 years, Marcus is well versed in, as he put it, ‘finding simple solutions to complex situations’ – with his brother’s wedding being no exception.

Despite his diagnosis of C2 tetraplegia, a very rare spinal injury, Marcus, his loving wife Deborah, and his specialist care team set about studying the very minutiae of the task ahead.

The trip was facilitated by CHD Care at Home, the domiciliary care branch of award-winning care provider, CHD Living.

Its multidisciplinary team worked closely with Marc’s wife Deborah, a retired community nurse with 39 years’ experience, his case manager Ruvini Silva, the Guardian Angels (his night care team), his consultant Dr Phillip McCluskie, and his occupational therapist, Kim Emery.

The team worked tirelessly to make the day run seamlessly so that Marcus could finally witness his brother tying the knot – precisely orchestrating every step of his journey from his home with the utmost consideration of his medical needs.

This included a full refurnishing of his hotel room, at the Sea Containers hotel adjacent to the wedding venue, to make space for specialist medical equipment such as a bariatric bed and mattress.

It was vital that Marcus stayed within a short distance of a major hospital and with Guy’s hospital nearby, this offered an additional safety net in case of any emergency.

So upon hearing his remarkable story, the hotel staff were determined to accommodate him.

External factors such as adverse weather conditions can have a significant impact on Marcus after he lost the ability to regulate his own body temperature following the accident.

Given that the wedding took place during one of the most significant weather storms the UK has experienced in the last 20 years, this cast a sense of doubt around whether he would still be able to make it on the day.

However, Marcus and his highly skilled care team were undeterred by the severe weather conditions and against all odds, Marcus managed to sit proudly alongside his brother and family for what he described as ‘a beautiful service and wonderful day’.