Cyclist woke up from coma on day life-support due to be switched off

• Chris Knight was reunited with the paramedics who helped save his life after his bicycle accident.

A charity lawyer who had a "miracle" awakening from a coma just hours before his life-support system would have been switched off has reflect on his good fortune - saying "it's nice to be here".

Chris Knight, 56, from Northampton, suffered brain injuries, broken ribs and a collapsed lung after being thrown off his bicycle for unknown reasons in July 2022.

He was in a coma for two weeks, during which doctors and his family were discussing switching off his life support, because there was little hope of him recovering, according to Mr Knight.

But Mr Knight had not just one, but two strokes of luck.

He said: "One of the doctors came in and said, 'I think we need to give him a little bit longer', so I was given another six days, [and life-support withdrawal was] scheduled again.

"But then there was an admin hiccup on the day of my switch-off, so it was all put back. Then I woke up.

"So I was very very lucky that I woke up in time, and here I am."

Speaking about his escape from death, Mr Knight said: "I'm very grateful to be here because it's nice to be here and do stuff, and walk the dog, and do whatever you do in a day.

"But if I wasn't here, I wouldn't know anything about it. So I wouldn't have anything to compare it to, but my family and friends would've gone through the trauma of: 'Poor Chris', 'do you remember when...', and 'what a shame that was'.

"They would've gone through a lot of trauma, so I'm really grateful for them that I'm here."

Mr Knight remained in critical care for an additional four weeks. He had to learn to breathe, eat, speak and walk again.

On Friday, he was reunited with the paramedics who helped save his life after his bicycle accident.

Mr Knight was airlifted to Coventry and Warwickshire University Hospital's major trauma unit, and continued his recovery at the Central England Rehabilitation Unit in Leamington Spa.

Now, over two years later, his recovery has continued at pace - and he even completed an ultra-marathon on the two-year anniversary of his wake-up.

Describing how he has changed since the accident, Mr Knight said: "I always was a 'live in the moment' kind of person, but I do now have a heightened intolerance of admin and boring stuff, so it's caused me to rethink my work.

"So I'm actually changing jobs in January to try and do something less intense."

Want a quick and expert briefing on the biggest news stories? Listen to our latest podcasts to find out What You Need To Know