A “brilliant” medical student paralysed from the waist down after falling from a tree has graduated as a doctor.
Xander Van der Poll was 19 when he climbed an ancient oak tree in Lavender Hall Park in Balsall Common, Solihull, in the West Midlands, while on a dog walk 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 and the keen rugby player remained in hospital for four months.
You just don’t expect it to happen to you. I was in incredible 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
Dr Xander Van der Poll
Seven years on, he has graduated from the University of Bristol as Dr Van der Poll and will balance working as a doctor with training for the Paralympics in 2028.
Dr Van der Poll, now 25 and working in A&E at a Birmingham hospital, said: “I really did a number on myself.
“You just don’t expect it to happen to you. I was in incredible 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.
“I was really lucky to have my family around me. My mum sat by my side every single day.”
People’s opinions are actually a lot more debilitating than your actual disability
Dr Xander Van der Poll
Exactly six weeks from his accident, he took his first year medical exams from his hospital bed – with the University of Bristol sending an invigilator there.
The university paid tribute to Dr Van der Poll, who it said had “aced” medical school and won an achievement award as well as excelling at several para sports including athletics, rowing and basketball.
He eventually found canoeing and now paddles a va’a – a one-person, double-hulled boat used for millennia in Polynesia and now used in paracanoe rowing.
Dr Van der Poll added: “People’s opinions are actually a lot more debilitating than your actual disability.
“People told me all sorts after the accident. During one medical placement, a doctor sat me down and listed all the things I couldn’t do.
Being in a wheelchair breaks down a lot of barriers between doctor and patient, it humanises me. When I come wheeling into the room, it disarms people. I’ve never had anyone doubt my abilities
Dr Xander Van der Poll
“The funny thing was, the list was all based on assumptions, and none of the assumptions were actually true.
“Hospitals are already quite accessible and Bristol Uni was very helpful at fostering a level of independence.
“Being in a wheelchair breaks down a lot of barriers between doctor and patient, it humanises me. When I come wheeling into the room, it disarms people. I’ve never had anyone doubt my abilities.”
Dr Van der Poll recently competed in his first European Championships, where he missed out on the finals by 0.2 seconds, and is a hopeful for the 2028 Paralympic Games in Los Angeles.
He and his wife, Kirsty Van der Poll, who is an amputee, run the Instagram account @ourchaoticadventure, which is aimed at destigmatising disability to their 11,500 followers.
Xander has been a really talented medical student and he will no doubt go on to become a brilliant doctor. We can all learn from him
Professor Chrissie Thirlwell, University of Bristol
“It shows us living every day like it’s our last and like it’s a gift,” Dr Van der Poll added.
Kirsty Van der Poll won fourth place at the ISA Para Surfing World Championships in California last November and is studying for a masters degree in physiotherapy.
The couple, who live near Coventry, married in June and honeymooned in the Philippines.
Professor Chrissie Thirlwell, head of Bristol Medical School at the University of Bristol, said: “Xander has been a really talented medical student and he will no doubt go on to become a brilliant doctor. We can all learn from him.
“I look forward to seeing what he goes on to do next, and hopefully cheering him on at the 2028 Paralympics.”
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