On the day after Christmas, renowned British writer Hanif Kureishi suddenly collapsed while on a vacation walk in Rome. The fall caused a spinal cord injury that left him unable to move his arms or legs.
The prominent playwright, a prize-winning screenwriter, filmmaker and novelist was suddenly unable to “scratch my nose, make a phone call or feed myself”—or, of course, hold a pen. So he began to dictate a series of daily posts on Twitter narrating his experiences with paralysis.
The candid tweets– brave, thoughtful and often funny—attracted strong interest right from the start. They struck a nerve, and people responded with love, encouragement and advice. His Twitter following quickly grew to 58,000 with re-tweets reaching as many as 1.7million.
His followers are gaining a new and heightened understanding of what it’s like to cope with a spinal cord injury.
Some sample tweets:
It occurred to me then that there was no coordination between what was left of my mind and what remained of my body. I had become divorced from myself. I believed I was dying. I believed I had three breaths left.
— Hanif Kureishi (@Hanifkureishi) January 6, 2023
When I woke up I started to cry. Of course when you cry you must wipe away your tears, which is something I’m unable to do. So my eyes filled with bitter salty water and I got into a panic and thought I might lose my eyesight along with everything else.
— Hanif Kureishi (@Hanifkureishi) January 13, 2023
An insect, a hero, a ghost or Frankenstein’s monster. Out of these mixings will come magnificent horrors and amazements. Every day when I dictate these thoughts, I open what is left of my broken body in order to try and reach you, to stop myself from dying inside.
— Hanif Kureishi (@Hanifkureishi) January 10, 2023
I can hold up my right hand a little. I can’t close or open my fingers. My hands are inert, stiff and swollen, and they could just as well belong to someone else. These experiences are terrible, but I am beginning to see they are not so unusual.
— Hanif Kureishi (@Hanifkureishi) January 9, 2023
I wish what had happened to me had never happened, but there isn’t a family on the planet that will evade catastrophe or disaster. But out of these unexpected breaks, there will be new opportunities for creativity.
— Hanif Kureishi (@Hanifkureishi) January 8, 2023
This Morning I Looked Out the Window.
Since I became a vegetable I have never been so busy. Last night at around nine I watched a few minutes of Glass Onion, which I enjoyed. Then I lost connection and everything went dark.
— Hanif Kureishi (@Hanifkureishi) January 10, 2023
Kureishi was moved to a specialty rehabilitation hospital in late January. After an operation to reduce swelling around his spinal cord, he regained small amounts of movement in his legs and the tip of his fingers. Doctors say the extent of his recovery is uncertain.
You can find Kureishi’s tweets here and a Substack newsletter.
One response to “Newly Paralyzed Writer Takes Twitter by Storm”
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Hi!!!!., I’m from Puerto Rico., I had a stroke and I can’t move my arms or legs!!!. But I understand., It’s not easy., One day you are walking and the next you don’t know what the fuck happened…it’s been a long year.,it’s not easy.,hardly no fisica help..just thank to Google I been trying to learn..don’t give up..take care