Coventry man paralysed by falling tree becomes Birmingham doctor

Xander Van der Poll paralyzed from the waist down after falling from a tree

PA Media/University of Bristol Xander Van der Poll in his graduation gown and cap, sitting in his wheelchair smiling outside a university building — Xander Van der Poll paralyzed from the waist down after falling from a tree

A medical student paralyzed from the waist down after falling from a tree has graduated as a doctor and is set to balance a medical career with Paralympic training.

Xander Van der Poll was 19 when he climbed an ancient oak tree in Lavender Hall Park in Balsall Common, Solihull, while walking his dog near his family home in 2018.

He slipped and fell three metres onto the roots below, breaking his back and puncturing a lung.

Surgeons spent nine hours operating on him and the rugby fan remained in hospital for four months.

Exactly six weeks after his accident, he took his first-year medical exams from his hospital bed, with an invigilator sent by the University of Bristol.

Six years later, the 25-year-old, who lives near Coventry, graduated from Dr Van der Poll.

Xander Van der Poll broke his back and punctured a lung after falling from a tree

Xander Van der Poll A man lies face down on an ambulance stretcher, with a yellow seat belt around his back — Xander Van der Poll broke his back and punctured a lung after falling from a tree

The graduate, who works in the emergency department of a Birmingham hospital and is training for the 2028 Paralympics, said of his fall: “I really hurt myself.

“You don’t expect this to happen to you. I was in excruciating pain for a few weeks and I was really worried about all the things I couldn’t do. I thought I wouldn’t be able to be a doctor, play rugby or just have a normal life.

He added: “I was very lucky to have my family around me. My mother sat with me every day.”

Xander and his wife Kirsty (left) with his family at the graduation

PA Media/University of Bristol Xander in his graduation gown, sitting in a wheelchair, with his wife and three family members around him, smiling at the camera, outside a building at the University of Bristol — Xander and his wife Kirsty (left) with his family at the graduation

The university paid tribute to Dr Van der Poll, who it said had “achieved” her medical studies and won an award of excellence, while also excelling in several Paralympic sports including athletics, rowing and basketball.

He eventually discovered the canoe and now paddles a va’a, a double-hulled boat that can accommodate a single person, used for millennia in Polynesia and today used for paracanoe rowing.

Dr Van der Poll said: “People’s opinions are actually far more debilitating than your actual disability.

“After the accident, I was told all sorts of things. At a medical clinic, a doctor sat me down and listed all the things I couldn’t do.

“The funny thing is, this list was based entirely on assumptions, and none of them were actually true.”

Graduate balances hospital work with training for 2028 Paralympics

Nick B Images Xander Van der Poll rowing in a river, wearing a black shirt, green sports bib and black sunglasses — Graduate balances hospital work with training for 2028 Paralympics

The canoeist recently competed in his first European Championships, where he missed the final by 0.2 seconds, and he hopes to compete at the Los Angeles Games in 2028.

He and his wife, Kirsty Van der Poll, who is an amputee, run the Instagram account ourchaoticadventure, which aims to make disability less of a problem for their 11,500 followers.

“It shows us how we live each day as if it were our last and as if it were a gift,” Dr Van der Poll said.