A SNOWBOARDER who almost died in a horrific accident and feared he would never become a father has spoken about welcoming his second son.

Tom Nabarro, from Standlake, shattered his neck, suffered three cardiac arrests and was left unconscious for three weeks after a fall in Bulgaria in April 2007.

The accident severed his spinal cord and shattered two vertebrae in his neck, leaving Mr Nabarro tetraplegic and in a wheelchair.

He was unable to move from the shoulders down, and was left without sensation or voluntary movement in his limbs.

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Mr Nabarro and his wife Ellen worried they would never have a family, however after marrying in 2012, they welcomed their first child Ori – whose name means ‘my light’ in Hebrew – in March 2018. Their second child, Max, was born in June.

Speaking to the Real Fix podcast, Mr Nabarro said: “It was a very scary thought to think that we might not have kids.

“Having Ori was incredible. He’s an absolute joy. He’s so vibrant and engaging and he loves to garden with my mum – he’s got little green fingers. He loves digging.”

Mr Nabarro’s condition has not prevented the pair from having an active sex life but they worried it might not be possible to have children.

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“We were given hope that people with high-level spinal injuries can have meaningful sexual lives,” said Mr Nabarro.

“It just takes a bit more working out and a bit more planning. It was encouraging to hear it was possible.

“I was actually trying to persuade Ellen to try for kids earlier than we did, but she was more sensible about it.”

Following an 18-hour labour, Ori was born at the John Radcliffe Hospital at 4.54am on March 14, 2018, weighing 7lbs 6oz. Max followed on June 8 this year, weighing 6lbs 9oz.

Although Mr Nabarro admits he longs to scoop up his sons, he has found his own ways of bonding with them.

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“It would be a wonderful thing for me to be able to hold my children, but it can’t happen and you just have to make do,” he said.

“It’s difficult not to be able to kick a ball around and throw them around and do rough play but you can make do. I’m just trying to be a good dad.

“Having children has been a massive progression in my life, I’m a different person since the accident.

“Going through life-changing events gives you a different perspective on life which helps me be a better parent.”

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After the accident, software engineer Mr Nabarro spent over a year at Stoke Mandeville Hospital in Aylesbury, finally being discharged in 2008.

The couple, who were together for two years before the accident, then moved into a wheelchair-adapted extension in Standlake.

Mr Nabarro proposed in October 2010 and the couple tied the knot in a ceremony in the summer of 2012, attended by many of the nurses who had cared for him.

The Real Fix podcast features ‘real people telling extraordinary stories’.