JAMES Bradley was waiting for a bus when a car ploughed into him with such force that his brain flipped inside his skull.
What was just a moment in the drunk-driver’s life became a three-year battle to save James’ through 10 gruelling surgeries.
9
James Bradley was in a coma for three weeks and had to have half his skull removedCredit: James Bradley
9
James is now writing a book to inspire others who suffer life-altering accidentsCredit: James Bradley
9
He was struck down in a brutal hit-and-run in Bushey, Hertfordshire, in front of friendsCredit: James Bradley
James, who was visiting from Dubai at the time of the brutal hit-and-run on Bushey High Street, Hertfordshire, on Boxing Day 2021, had to completely relearn how to read, write, speak and walk in the wake of his ordeal.
The high-flying project manager, now 37, tells Sun Health: “I was just crossing the road and the guy hit me out of nowhere. I was knocked completely unconscious.
“He slung me from the right-hand side. I smacked my arm against the windscreen and smashed my head against the floor.
“I landed right in the middle of the road, and the bus nearly ran me over as well.”
After stopping down the road just moments after hitting James, then 34, the driver fled the scene – leaving his innocent victim helpless on the tarmac.
He says: “My friends saw me in the middle of the road, then noticed the driver stop and get out of the car.
“He started swearing because he’d seen me on the ground.
“I believe he wiped down the steering wheel, then took his possessions and just ran off.
“There was a pub next door and he ran through the garden and jumped over the fence.”
James says there were drugs and alcohol in the vehicle, and the car didn’t even belong to him.
I almost died after freak surgery accident AND bus crash, now I’ve won £65k in lottery win
As James’ panic-stricken pals waited for an ambulance to arrive, two heroic nurses, who were held up in the police cordon, rushed over to help.
He says: “Jodie Bannister and Mary Walsh saw me lying in the road and raced over.
“Jodie got her coat and wrapped me in it.”
On the way to St. Mary’s Hospital in London, James’ heart stopped.
Thankfully, medics were able to stabilise him in time to deliver him to intensive care.
He adds: “I went straight in to have a CT scan and then immediately into surgery.
“They had to cut open my skull to relieve the pressure on my brain.
“They said my brain flipped from one side to the other. The pressure on my brain had moved the actual brain itself.”
9
His family had to call the ICU ward via Zoom as there were coronavirus restrictions in placeCredit: James Bradley
9
James and his brother Paul on holiday together before the incidentCredit: James Bradley
9
James’ elbow also shattered into 50 piecesCredit: James Bradley
James’ elbow was also shattered into 50 pieces, and he had to have sections of his leg and hip removed to help rebuild the joint.
After his life-saving surgery, he was placed into a medical coma – one that doctors were unsure if he would ever wake up from.
James’ brother, Paul, says the family would video call the ward every day in the desperate hope for positive change.
Paul, 40, says: “Back then, we were still dealing with the ramifications of Covid, so we had to do a lot of Zoom calls.
“Every day he was in a coma, we phoned as a family and would say, ‘Any change?’ and they would say, ‘No’.
“We did this for weeks, but it felt like months.”
Miraculously, James defied the doctors’ fears, and he woke up after three and a half weeks – but he’s still got a long way to go.
It’s one of the best things that’s happened to me because now I’ve learned the true aspect of life
James Bradley
James says: “I’m still not fully there yet.
“I’ve only just finalised my rehabilitation three years after the accident because the injury was on the left side of my brain, which impacts your speech and language.
“I’ve had four surgeries on my brain and another four on my elbow.
“I still have one functional arm and two more surgeries to go, so I’m still not finished.
“I’ll probably never be finished, but I’ll always look to move forward.”
James has also developed epilepsy and has suffered six severe seizures, one of which resulted in his head being re-stitched.
His memory has also been heavily affected.
Epilepsy after a brain injury
EPILEPSY happens when the normal electrical activity in your brain changes.
It’s thought to be related to genes you inherit from your parents, or to changes in your genes, but it can be caused by brain damage.
This includes a head injury, stroke or an infection.
The Epilepsy Foundation says: “When there is a traumatic blow to the head, or a jarring or shaking of the brain, the impact of the brain against the rough edges on the inside of the skull can cause tearing of the coverings of the brain, tissues, and blood vessels that may cause bleeding.
“The impact can also cause bruising (contusion) and swelling (edema) of the brain.
“Since the brain is covered by the skull, there is only a small amount of room for it to swell.
“This causes pressure inside the skull to increase, which can lead to additional widespread brain injury.”
Epilepsy cannot currently be cured, but treatment can often help manage it, including medication and surgery.
Source: NHS, Epilepsy Foundation
After a procedure to add new plates under his scalp to replace the missing half of his skull, he developed an infection.
James says: “Because I had my head open, I essentially didn’t have a skull, just skin covering my brain.
“On the day that the tissue around my metal skull got infected, they had to cut muscle out of my face, just above my temple, to get into the actual infection part of my skull.
“When they do these head surgeries, you have to have half your skull taken out, and you lie in bed with the worst headaches for weeks.
“Then you come out again and have to rebuild. It was demoralising.”
I was at the bottom of the barrel and felt I had nothing left in my life to live for anymore. I was completely broken.
James
Despite saving his life, the countless operations and the visible damage to James’ face and head left him suicidal.
He says: “I was at the bottom of the barrel and felt I had nothing left in my life to live for anymore. I was completely broken.
“I didn’t want to go outside. I didn’t want people to see me.
“I hated the way I looked, so I didn’t really want to go to the gym, but I eventually plucked up the courage to go back.
“Because I’ve been in hospital for so long, I’ve lost all my muscle.
“I’ve been trying to rebuild the muscle and get my life back.”
9
‘I was at the bottom of the barrel, I was completely broken,’ James saysCredit: James Bradley
9
He had to re-learn how to walk, talk, read and write after he woke from his comaCredit: James Bradley 
9
The high-flying project manager, now 37, says he ‘feels sorry’ for the drink-driverCredit: James Bradley
Because the years after his accident were a blur of hospital visits, surgeries and rehabilitation, the severity of James’ injuries didn’t fully register until he returned to St Mary’s Hospital for a check-up in 2022.
After chatting about his time in the ICU, a doctor suggested he visit the ward where he spent weeks in a coma.
When James walked through the doors and laid eyes on his personal nurse, Rebecca, she struggled to hold back tears.
Paul, a personal trainer, says: “These nurses have to be ‘on it’, and all they are dealing with is negativity and drama – bad, bad people who are close to death.
“Rebecca came out, almost crying, and told James, ‘We never get to see the success stories, we never find out what happens when people leave here’.
“She turned around to James and told him how pleased she was to see him because he was the sickest person on the ward.
“I think that was the moment when it really hit home for James.
“I think until then, the penny hadn’t dropped. In that moment, he realised he’d had a second lease of life.”
‘Life is so precious’
James, who once worked for Exxon Mobil, one of the biggest oil and gas companies in the world, is now writing a book.
He hopes The Will To Survive will inspire others who have experienced life-changing injuries.
But writing has come with its challenges. James says he often gets tired after looking at a screen for prolonged periods and sometimes the words don’t flow as easily.
“I want to be able to help other people who have had similar experiences to me,” he adds.
“It will be autobiographical, but will be filled with things I’ve learned in my recovery.”
As the car didn’t belong to the person driving at the time of the incident, police were never able to charge him.
For some, the injustice would be almost too much to bear.
But James, who is now waiting to have more surgery on his arm and face, takes a vastly different approach and says the crash was one of the “best things” to have happened to him.
“I feel sorry for him, really,” he says.
“I’m not saying that anyone should have to nearly die to feel this way, but honestly, it’s one of the best things that’s happened to me because now I’ve learned the true aspect of life.
“Life is so precious and it’s completely opened my eyes – especially to how we should treat one another.
“I’m not angry towards him anymore, it’s just one of those things you have to get over.
“He was obviously going through a time where he felt it was OK to leave me. I’ve not got hatred for the guy.”
How to get help
EVERY 90 minutes in the UK a life is lost to suicide
It doesn’t discriminate, touching the lives of people in every corner of society – from the homeless and unemployed to builders and doctors, reality stars and footballers.
It’s the biggest killer of people under the age of 35, more deadly than cancer and car crashes.
And men are three times more likely to take their own life than women.
Yet it’s rarely spoken of, a taboo that threatens to continue its deadly rampage unless we all stop and take notice, now.
If you, or anyone you know, needs help dealing with mental health problems, the following organisations provide support: