He's home!

Monday 18 March 2019

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A young surfer and musician, who has been receiving treatment in the UK since a car crash left him paralysed, has finally returned to the sun and sea of his beloved home after nearly four years away.

Olly Newman had been at the Queen Elizabeth Foundation – a specialist rehabilitation facility - since 2014, when an uninsured driver slammed into the side of his car at over 70mph as Olly was leaving his favourite beach area, Le Port, in an tragic accident that saw him lose the use of his limbs and torso.

But, after years of support from his friends and the wider island community through a charity named after one of his favourite phrases, ‘Peas and Glove’, which was founded with the one goal of getting him home, Olly finally touched back down in Jersey - for good – earlier this year.

Pictured: Olly Newman's accident sparked an outpouring of support in the form of charity Peas and Glove.

In their first interview since his return, Olly’s family and best friend shared his journey, and how his homecoming has already had a positive effect…

Matt Daly expects he’ll be booking a flight in the next few days without even thinking.

Like Olly’s family, he has spent nearly four years in a constant state of to-and-fro, rushing over to the UK to support his best friend, whose mobility was cruelly taken from him.

“I have had to make time and sacrifice. I’ve had to sell material things - cars, guitars. I’ve quit jobs because they haven’t given me the time to go and see him. But Olly’s more important than any sum of money.”

It’s a sentiment shared by Olly’s friends and family, who have poured their souls into fundraising for the talented surfer and musician, and dreaming up clever ways of accelerating his journey back to the beloved beaches of home.

Pictured: Permanent Ollyday has become an annual fixture in the calendar.

Through tie-die merchandise, events and an annual ‘Permanent Ollyday’ festival - a play on the name of one of Olly’s favourite tunes - the team have got together thousands of pounds which have been ploughed into innovative therapies tailored to the young man’s interests.

And they’ve made all the difference.

Peas and Glove’s work has got Olly a special wheelchair, eye gaze technology to help him communicate better, a van to get out and about, and, crucially, hydro and music therapy.

Matt’s eyes light up as he explains the reaction from the latter - a programme which saw a musician-come-therapist regularly join Olly with his guitar, and invite him to participate in making music by playing harmonising notes on a small board with his thumb.

“It improves his mobility - his arms, wrist, his thumb. The music gets more and less intense, and Olly has to track him with his eyes… It’s amazing.”

And then there’s the hydrotherapy - another way of improving mobility, and giving Olly a dose of something close to Vitamin Sea.

But Matt and Olly’s family knew it would never be quite the same as the crashing waves of Jersey.

They got a taste of what an impact it might have on Olly last year, when he had his first visit to the island in years back in May.

"The little test in may went much better than anyone imagined - the way he dealt with things was most important. We just had to think about him. But he just started fighting from there. He just progressed and progressed,” Matt remembers. “We knew what needed to be done.|

As the planning process began, a ‘Team Ollie’ was put in place to help smooth the transition. “He started perking up again, as we were talking so much about going home. There were just little signs, which to us were huge,” Matt recalls.

Pictured: Matt regularly visited Olly while he was staying at a therapeutic facility in the UK.

After a lot of work and a few false starts, the dream became a reality earlier this year - something he says while smiling, almost in disbelief.

“Coming home, you can see, his skin’s glowing. He’s really in high spirits. He just seems himself. His carers have mentioned they can see his personality coming out now. He is in there, he’s just trapped.”

Olly’s first trip out was an obvious one: “We took him straight down the beach, and watched the sun set. He hasn’t seen the sun set for four-and-a-half years. So we took him to the top of L’Etacq and it was stunning.”

Once upon a time uninmaginable, Olly has since explored country lanes in his chair with his family, gone bowling, and, of course, hit up his favourite haunt: The Watersplash.

Years ago, dozens of his friends had gathered there in a moving display with a quirky message: ‘Get well soon Shag!’

Pictured: In 2014... and then in 2019.

Four years later, they returned with a similar set-up, but this time able to pose for a photo with their mate on a “nice clear day” with a sign happily echoing their previous plea: ‘Welcome home Shag!’

Matt described the encounter as “emotional” – and not just because it marked a new chapter for Olly in which he can once again regularly feel the sun and wind lap at his face, and inhale the salt of the sea air.

“Some of these people had been travelling and the last time they’d seen him was hanging out on the beach. A lot has happened, some of our friends have kids, some are married, some are here, some aren’t.

“We got home. Job done. That’s all we wanted from day one when Peas and Glove started.”

“Uncle Ollie” – as he has now become to many – is now staying at what his dad, Paul, describes as a “beautiful” location a short distance from the island’s west coast with an “amazing” team from Tutela providing 24/7 care.

Pictured: Olly has been able to enjoy sunsets since arriving home.

“We’re obviously delighted after four years of being away from the island that he’s back where he belongs, and we feel that since being back he has responded very well to the island surroundings and being able to see his friends,” Paul says.

One of the most important things, however, has been spending time with his family, who for years kept strong tirelessly worked behind the scenes to ensure Olly gets the care he needs, as well as supporting Peas & Glove and carefully coordinating the homecoming effort.

While there have been “stressful” moments, Paul confesses, the impact of having Olly home has been immeasurable – particularly for family life.

“We have the opportunity to see him on a more regular basis rather than having to rely on plane timetables, weather, and all of those other thing we’ve had to deal with for four years,” he explains. 

“It used to be four days a month, now its four or more days a week,” his step-mum, Louisa, says. “QEF was a fantastic place and they’ve done amazing things with him, but there were between 10 and 15 other clients there at all times… Now we can fit his timetable to him.”

Pictured: Olly's friends and family had to travel over to the UK to see him previously, when he was residing at QEF.

While they’ve enjoyed times out and about, Paul says it’s the little moments the family have cherished – things others take for granted like simply watching the football. “Normalising his life is very important and something we’ve missed with him,” he says.

The football, in particular, is something Matt jokes he likes to “normalise” further with cheeky jibes – or even a lighthearted rude hand gesture - when his favoured team score against Olly’s.

At the moment, with the help of Olly’s family and Matt, his Jersey-based care team are busy learning “every nook and cranny” of the beach enthusiast, as well as his likes and dislikes, to be able to give him the best care they can. “The size of his pupils means something. Every muscle in his face… Now the care time are starting to realise.”

The next step? “It’s finding him a home to live in with his carers. He needs his own place now so he can have a kitchen with food in it. That’ll be another couple of months… and have a proper Jersey summer!”

Louisa chips in with a smile: “We can’t wait to get him in the sea as well!”

 

Pictured: Olly's family would like to work with charity Healing Waves, which helps those with disabilities enjoy the sea.

They’re currently looking to connect with charity Healing Waves, which provides accessible surfboards to help those with disabilities enjoy the sea, to realise one of the biggest goals of all.

“We’re hoping to use them at some point – they reckon they can get anyone on a board!” Paul explains.

But, despite this latest big step, Paul stresses that Olly’s family are not taking anything for granted and that progress will be gradual.

“We’ve got a long long way to go. We’re under no illusion about that, but having him here with us, being able to see him regularly, is great,” Paul says.

He says the list of people to thank for progressing this far is almost so long it would be impossible to list everyone. He extends special thanks to Caroline and Nuno of Tutela, rehab guys Nick and Radu, Steve and his team at Maison des Landes, and the Peas and Glove team headed by "Daly", who was nominated for the Pride of Britain Awards thanks to his fundraising efforts.

Pictured: Matt Daly (left), who has previously been described as Olly's "eyes and ears" was nominated for a Pride of Britain award for helping Olly.

Of course, the biggest praise must go to Olly for getting himself fighting fit for Jersey.

“It’s been a long time coming, but it was the right time to do it, and with the support of others we’ve been able to do it - and down to him, of course."

So if Peas and Glove – described by Paul as “a great inspiration to many” - has realised its goal of bringing their boy home, what next?

Matt says he’s keen for the efforts not to stop, especially given the way in which the Peas and Glove initiative has been received in Jersey.

“I’d like to keep it going,” Matt explains. “Olly’s the root. It’s been branched out now. Not raising money for one person, but all these people who have helped Ollie get where he is. I’ve seen too many people over the years - it’s too common, brain injuries. Now we know what the family and friends are going through.

“It’s not easy, it’s not a journey that anyone deserves to be on. So if we can help raise money for whatever people need, that would be good.”