This is really incredible. I'm a quadriplegic student and you don't really see people in my position in tech, and definitely not in executive roles so this means a lot in terms of proving it's possible.
I think we need to start designing our cities so that people walk and cycle on a level above the street, sort of like the Highline in NYC. And cars and trucks operate below that without pedestrians.<p>That would make cycling a lot safer. Expensive to do for existing cities, but robotic construction may make it cheap enough to do in a few decades.
> Delivered without sugar-coating and designed to manage expectations, the prognosis from doctors wasn’t good. The aim of surgery was to straighten Takeuchi’s spine and fix his posture, not to enable him to walk again. If during the procedure the doctors saw additional work that could be done, they would do it, but he shouldn’t allow himself to think that he would wake up and be walking.<p>Wow. We are a community of people who enjoy the ability to dream and ask, "what if?" It's very difficult to turn that off and accept that the impossible is, in fact, impossible. That kind of realization can be, and almost would certainly be to me, defeating.<p>Not for Hiroki - this guy is just wired differently.<p>I wish him the best.
I did an internship at GoCardless last summer - Hiroki is an excellent leader and I'm not surprised to see him bounce back in such an inspiring way
Interesting how work can bea meaningful distraction after a crisis. Something meaningful to think about other than adjusting to life in a wheelchair, in this case.
About 5 years ago I was CTO'ing for a firm upstairs in the same building as GoCardless - both firms moved out of that abandoned shell in Finsbury Square around 3-4 months after I left, I believe. At the time they were focused entirely on validating direct debit payments were something people wanted to do online (they do), and we were figuring out how to move private jets around Europe (long story).<p>I only met Hiroki briefly, my main interactions were with others there. They seemed like a committed and focused group, determined to build something of value.<p>I have some empathy for some of this story: I couldn't walk in April of this year and had to have surgery to remove an abscess that caused some quite nasty neuropathy. It happened quite quickly - over a couple of weeks, not a car crash speed, at least. And I was treated by Imperial down in Hammersmith, the same trust who I believe run St Mary's.<p>Whilst my prognosis was not quite as dramatic - I was told that walking again was "a nice side effect we see in 70%-80% of people in this sort of case" - I was prepared to be in a wheelchair the rest of my life. I told my GF that if she couldn't handle that, I'd understand. The silly cow didn't take her chance... :-)<p>That moment when you wake up in recovery, try and move your toes and realise nothing has really changed: pretty devastating.<p>I was lucky. Physiotherapy and time have contributed to me walking pretty well with a stick, and that might go soon. My spinal injury was no more than a compression, in which the nerves will over time regrow mostly - unlike Hiroki's which sounds more like a shear.<p>I can also empathise with the desire to get through physiotherapy quickly: whilst I still receive weekly physiotherapy sessions (I have one in a couple of hours, actually), I wanted to get off the inpatient unit ASAP: the normal stay was 3-4 months for my sort of case. I got done in 5 weeks. I've heard stories of people being there for years.<p>Also, being pushed around is stupid. I agree with him on that. My girlfriend, bless her, she did well. But never again.<p>And yes, it does all make you rethink everything you are and do and value in life, and in some ways accidents like this can be blessings in disguise. I suspect he will now be more focused and determined to do the big things in life that you dream about but never act on: I know I have become so since leaving hospital. No more sitting around watching Netflix every night for me...<p>I might be lucky in that I can walk again - and 6 months from now you'll never know I went through anything like I have - but I'll always have a certain appreciation for life that only people who have been through something that traumatic can share.<p>Good luck to him, and to the rest of the GC guys - they're all going to be fine.
I don't think this is the first interview [1] but it's interesting. DSM is worth a listen if you've not heard it before.<p>[1] - <a href="http://www.wnyc.org/story/death-sex-money-rachel-hiroki/" rel="nofollow">http://www.wnyc.org/story/death-sex-money-rachel-hiroki/</a>
The 2012 Paralympic Games London were a huge triumph.<p>However London doesn't seem innately supportive to people in wheelchair users, I hardly ever see them in central London, and not at the many Meetups I attend; which I believe is a loss for us all.<p>The new Crossrail Line is being built with wheelchair access in mind, so hopefully it just won't be the tough as nuts, extrovert wheel chair users who can surmount getting into London.<p>Smaller towns may be easier to get into, but they probably don't have the critical mass, and events.<p>Which is the best large city for wheel chair users?