Physics teacher Gurmeet Singh Sidhu, 49, from Kent needed feeding and cleaning by his wife after being told he would never walk unaided again following the incident in 2023
A teacher who was told he may never walk properly again says his students helped fuel his recovery. Gurmeet Singh Sidhu, 49, woke up one morning in March 2023 and, without any prior warning, found he was unable to move his body.
The dad-of-two described his back as “locked” and was in so much agony that his neighbours could hear him howling in pain. Mr Sidhu, a physics teacher from Kent was diagnosed with two severely damaged vertebrates and told that he needed major back surgery, much to his shock and dismay. However, he refused to be beaten by it.
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Instead, to avoid having any surgery he decided to start walking every day. Now, Mr Sidhu’s back is healed and he even managed to walk 500km for Movember – something he has since be awarded for.
He is adamant that this astonishing return to mobility was down to his students at Gravesend Grammar School, who inspired him to persevere when things got tough. The Walking Singh, as he has been affectionaly nicknamed, recalled the horror of that morning.
“There had been no warning. I was fit, I was healthy, and then one morning I woke up and I couldn’t move. I was locked. The pain was unlike anything else I’ve experienced. For the first few weeks, I couldn’t do anything.
“My wife looked after me. She had to help feed me, clean me. My neighbours could hear my crying from my bed every morning.”
He went on: “Then my doctor told me I may never be able to walk normally again, and that was just unimaginable to me. He said I needed surgery but I wanted to avoid it if possible.
“So he said he would give me a month to improve things, but if I didn’t, I was having the surgery. Despite the pain I walked every day to heal myself. And it helped me in other ways.
“My physical health affected my mental health, so when I started walking, I started fighting back too. In that time, my students inspired me to keep going. They sent messages and cards telling me I could do it, and saying they were looking forward to seeing me back at school.
“That inspired me. I thought if my students believe in me, then I can do this. And it made me want to start doing things for them too.”
Since his recovery, Mr Sidhu has completed various walks for charities that support young people with mental health issues. He walked for Movember last November as well as the November before that.
Earlier this month, Movember awarded him the ‘Going The Distance’ award for his efforts. Mr Sidhu said: “My aim is to help young people with mental health issues.
“And I walk to do that because physical and mental health goes hand-in-hand. Being physically fit can help you stay mentally fit. So I want to keep doing this sort of thing to support young people.”
While he hopes his story can inspire young people never to give up. “I want my story to inspire them to never give up, and to think, that if I can do it, so can they. I want youngsters to believe in themselves and know they can achieve all the goals they set in their lives,” he said.
