Matthew Hawksley has as many lives as a cat and cheated death nine times – after surviving a cliff fall, heart attacks, MRSA, pneumonia and cancer. Triathlete, Matthew, 25, had his first miracle escape after he and a group of friends decided to go for a swim in the sea on a work weekend away. But he didn’t realise the water was only a metre deep and swan dived off a high pier onto a bed of sharp rocks.
He miraculously survived the smash but shattered the fifth vertebrae in his spine which caused him to have a heart attack as his lungs filled with water. His life had to be saved four times within 30 minutes by first-aiders on the scene and paramedics who rushed him to hospital. He awoke from a five week coma and spent months recovering – while also beating life-threatening bouts of MRSA and pneumonia.
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Matthew was also back on his feet within months – despite being told he would never walk again. But just four months after being released from hospital Matthew was diagnosed with testicular cancer and surgeons removed his right testicle. Resilient Matthew, of Huntingdon, Cambs., has now been given the all-clear – which means he has outsmarted death an incredible nine times.
He said: “In lots of ways I feel like the unluckiest man I know – but in lots of ways I suppose I’m the luckiest man in Britain. But you can’t let yourself down. You have to pick yourself up and work with what you’ve got. I have never really been down or upset. You just have to carry on, I suppose.” Fighting fit Matthew is now planning to run, swim and cycle in a triathlon in two months in aid of both cancer and spinal cord injury charities. His charity runs can be supported here and here.
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