Latest news with #miraclerecovery
BBC News
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- BBC News
The Christians hail drummer's 'miracle' recovery after on-stage collapse
The bandmates of a drummer who collapsed on stage at a festival in Liverpool after suffering a cardiac arrest have shared of photo of his "miracle" recovery in hospital days Duke of The Christians had to be put in an induced coma after falling ill during the On The Waterfront festival at Pier Head on a post of the soul band's Facebook, lead singer Garry Christian can be seen sitting in intensive care with Duke at Broadgreen Heart And Chest post said: "Miracles do happen... Lionel, we love you, man." Medics rushed on stage to help the drummer as the Christians, who are from Liverpool, performed ahead of Sting's headline slot at the festival. The band had only played two songs before he fell ill, and the event was paused while he was taken to of the band - who had a Top 10 hit in 1988 with their cover of the Isley Brothers' Harvest For The World - were urged to "send positive vibes" as Duke the update posted earlier, Christian said: "Look who I found in intensive care". Listen to the best of BBC Radio Merseyside on Sounds and follow BBC Merseyside on Facebook, X, and Instagram. You can also send story ideas via Whatsapp to 0808 100 2230.
The Guardian
12-05-2025
- Entertainment
- The Guardian
Make It to Munich review – uplifting story of a young footballer cycling to recovery
This is an uplifting film about a miracle of ordinary life: the lightning-fast recovery of the teenage Scottish footballer Ethan Walker after being hit by a car, and the 745 mile (1,200km) bike ride he undertook from Hampden Park, Glasgow, to Munich just nine months after the accident to deliver the match pennant for the opening game of Euro 2024. Walker – on a football scholarship in New York when he was struck at 60mph – suffered cataclysmic injuries, including two brain haemorrhages, multiple fractures, the dislocation of his right knee and a lacerated lung. So you understand the concern of Walker's companions when he chooses to ride hands-free, arms outstretched, double thumbs-up. But that's just the style of this carrot-topped trouper: resolutely cheerful and un-self-pitying, despite facing the end of his football career before it began, and aftershocks of the accident such as a lingering speech impediment. Director Martyn Robertson intercuts Walker's progress through Scotland, England, the Netherlands and Germany with flashbacks to his recovery. His boon companion on both legs is orthopaedic surgeon Gordon Mackay, himself a former Rangers footballer, who rebuilt the youngster's knee using pioneering ligament repair techniques. The film is possibly a little too low-incident for its own good – the Rhine bursting its banks over their route is the worst of it – but is testament to the stout spirit with which Walker leads the enterprise. Robertson, who previously directed the similar sporting-adversity story Ride the Wave (2022), borrows the quiet wisdom of his subject and lets it colour the story. Amid the punctures and pitstops there are discreet road-movie epiphanies: Walker accepting, when his surgeon levels with him, that he must now focus on coaching, not playing, and his wry smile as he finally acknowledges that his resilience is, after all, exceptional. With the boy's parents checking in by phone as he rediscovers his autonomy, the quasi-paternal bond between Walker and Mackay is touching. The internal journey is as significant as the trans-European one, a feeling Robertson buffs with quick lyrical bursts, such as a drone shot over a poppy field, or a spaced-out Walker singing the Spider-Man theme tune to a spider dangling from a car-park ceiling. Even Scotland getting hammered 5-1 at the end can't dampen the spirit of this unassuming and heartening pilgrimage. Make It to Munich is in UK cinemas from 15 May.
