Man paralysed in medical school now A&E doctor in wheelchair

A man paralysed during medical school is now a qualified doctor providing healthcare from his wheelchair - working in A&E. Xander Van der Poll, 25, completed his training at Bristol Medical School in May 2024. During his first year, Xander broke his back after falling from a tree and was immediately paralysed from the waist down. Despite the blow to both his physical and mental health, Xander has completed his studies and now works as a junior doctor at Queen Elizabeth Hospital Birmingham. Xander, who was born in South Africa but raised in Stratford-Upon Avon, West Midlands, from the age of two, is working in A&E at a Birmingham hospital.