Hammond Online

The Interview They All Wanted
RICHARD HAMMOND
The ‘Top Gear’ Star Celebrates His Survival – Exclusively With Ok!

Richard Hammond is a walking miracle. After just six weeks, the Top Gear star has stunned the nation and made an almost 100 per cent recovery after suffering significant brain injury when the 300mph jet car he was driving crashed.
His high-speed smash left him in a critical condition but the fighting star pulled through and remained upbeat throughout – and was even caught joking with paramedics while being transported from one hospital to another.
But now, after an extremely emotional reunion with his two beautiful daughters, Isabella, six and Willow, three, 35-year old Richard is already itching to get back to work. “I’ve had a bit of a knock to the head but I can’t wait to get back to my dream job, although I’ll get a lot of abuse from the boys!”
Here the presenter opens the doors of his beautiful home along with his supportive wife Mindy to talk about his horrific ordeal, his new-found love of celery and how his New Year could have been a whole lot different

How has life been since the accident, Richard? - It’s taken a good deal of getting used to but I can’t stop thinking how lucky I am. The doctors predicted I’d be in hospital for 18 months but I’m already home. The difficult bit is learning how to function again.

Do you have any actually scars? - Not one. I’ll sit in pubs with friends who have fallen off their pushbike with better scars than me. I’ve got nothing because they didn’t have to drill holes in my skull. I had a scab on my shin, which I secretly loved picking away at, but it just looked like I’d fallen over. All the damage was to my brain.

Were you wearing a lot of safety gear? - Yes, the crash helmet saved my life and it’s the whole reason I lived. There was an ambulance on site with specially trained paramedics and I had a roll cage and protective harnesses, so we were professional and responsible. I’ve always been a bit obsessive about wearing a helmet because they make all the difference – I’m living proof. I’ll go bike riding now wearing s much protection!

What was the last thing that went through your mind before crashing? - A fair bit. The last thing I remember is climbing into a car with a jet engine on the back, being strapped in and seeing out of the side of my visor and ambulance, the paramedics and a team of experts looking after the car, clearing the runway. That made it easier for me to understand what happened when I came out from the coma. If I’d come out of a coma and the last thing I’d remembered is climbing a ladder, how the hell would I make sense of that? That’s really hard.

Do they know what went wrong with the stunt yet? - They’re doing investigations to find out now, so I’m sure it’ll come out in god time.

How did it affect you as a couple? - Richard: Well there was no arguing for a while! Mindy got the brunt of it.
Mindy: I suppose it has brought us even closer, but at the time it was horrible. I remember getting the phone call and running to the car and driving to Leeds. I had three phones with me and everyone was slowly finding out what happened.

Where you told anything more on the phone? - Mindy: Funnily enough I heard on the radio that his car had flipped and rolled and he was in hospital with a brain injury. A head injury could be a cut to the head, but a brain injury is a completely different ball game. But the second I saw him I just knew if there was a spark of life in him he’d come back.
Richard: Even though I was on life support? Mindy: Yes. I just knew you’d come back. Richard: Or you’d give me a hell of a rollicking! Mindy: If you look at someone in that situation and think, he’s going to die, what use are you going to be to anyone?

Mindy, did you stay in the hospital? - Yes, I lived in his intensive care room as long as he did! Richard: I honestly can’t remember a thing about that. Mindy: The nurses were absolutely amazing; we have a lot to thank them for. We lived on takeaways for two weeks! Richard: It would be good to go back because those people kept me alive daily and I want to thank them. It will be intense because I can’t recall being there so it’ll be a big landmark in the recovery. I’m looking forward to that.

Mindy, were you in the room when he came round? - Yes, I hardly slept. At one point Jeremy Clarkson refused to leave the hospital until he saw me disappear into a room with a sofa bed made up by the nurses for me to get some kip. Richard: Jeremy probably prodded me with forks when you left me. Mindy: Astonishingly, every time I left the room, Richard would do something like pick his nose. Richard: It was spite!

Did your daughters visit? - Mindy: When I came back from the hospital to pack, I said to the girls, “Daddy’s banged a car again and has torn his clothes so I’m taking him some new ones." They accepted that, but Izzy saw how upset I was and clearly sensed she wasn’t meant to know the truth. Richard: They knew everything eventually in case they had to prepare for the worst. They might not have recognised me. Mindy: We took them to the hospital telling them beforehand that they had to whisper and smile because Daddy’s still a bit poorly. They were amazing and did exactly that, but the second Izzy walked out the door she burst into tears. Richard: She held it together for me but the same thing would happen every time.

Were they frightened of you, Richard? - They were when I said to them, “Look at this kids!” and showed them my lumpy gammy eye where the soil had been. Mindy: It looked so horrific – I can’t believe he’s still got his eye.

Did you get bored in hospital, Richard? - Totally, they took my phone off me because it’s added stress. I wasn’t allowed to leave hospital because there’s too much to look at and focus on. I eventually found an old phone but it wasn’t long before I got busted! Mindy: I confiscated everything because he’d called lots of people and they thought he was totally bonkers!

Did you have many visitors during your hospital stay? - Richard: The Top Gear guys were amazing. Because of the nature of the job we all work in a big playground so they were all there – they’re like family. Jeremy Clarkson even had the cheek to tell me I was a c**p driver. Mindy: It sounds weird but we were all laughing and joking and trying to be upbeat. Richard: It would’ve been nice if you weren’t laughing at me, though! Mindy: But you smirked and twitched occasionally and that was amazing.

Looking back, Richard, how do you feel about the whole ordeal? - It was a bit touch and go for a while but because there were no physical complications and it was just my brain, I guess I just feel lucky to have a brain that mends well.

Did you keep the newspapers? Richard: I haven’t seen them. Mindy: Yes you have! Richard: I only had a 20-second memory so I could read the same thing again and again and it’d be a novelty – it’s post-traumatic amnesia. I could remember stuff that happened in my life, but not what happened a minute before. Apparently I was quite nice when I was bonkers, nicer than I am usually!

The accident was obviously filmed – have you watched it back? - I haven’t yet but that’s something to discuss. I’ll do the responsible thing but I won’t be saying. ‘Hey, look at that, woo hoo!’

What do people say to you when they see you in the street? - Richard: They’re shocked that I’m walking and they don’t know what to expect. I want to get a T-shirt made saying ‘I’m still bl**dy poorly, you know!’ I well up with tears when people come up t me saying how nice it is to have me back!

Are you expected to make a full recovery? - It’s a gradual process from here. In my case, the time I spent in the coma was relatively short so the recovery I’ve made is pretty straightforward. There’s not on the physical side of things to cope with, there is also the mental. I was lucky that the time I spent in hospital was pretty short-lived. Mindy: Probably because you didn’t believe you were in hospital – you thought you were in a hotel! Richard: I also thought it was a constant party with all my visitors. Mindy: And he kept trying to make a great escape. Richard: I tried quite a few times ad constantly tried to persuade the surgeon to let me go home, but then he’d ask me where I was and I couldn’t tell him!

Have you noticed any changes in yourself since the crash? - Now I love celery, which is weird! Any my hair is thicker. I wouldn’t recommend it as therapy for hair loss because it’s a bit hit and miss and your whole head could come off in the process! Mindy: He also never used to remember pin numbers but he can now remember every cash card number and every mobile number. Richard: It’s peculiar. I wouldn’t recommend it because you have to endure the worst two months of your life and plus I can’t have an alcoholic drink for two years!

What has the reaction from the public been like? - Richard: Astonishing. It was touching that so many people wrote to me – it made such a difference. Mindy: We got so many flowers and cards. It’s distressing reading them now because it brings it all back, but they were incredible.

How are you filling your days now that you’re home from hospital? - Richard: It’s hard but I’ve become obsessed with Lego! Following instructions is really good for the brain so my day is: I get up, have breakfast, then make Lego models all day – I love it. Mindy: As he’s normally a workaholic it’s strange having him at home all day. even on holiday he hides his laptop from me.

Mindy, how did you remain so strong? - I took up smoking for a few days, and I’m one of those people that if things happen I just get on with it. I didn’t have any choice so I had to. Richard: It was really stressful on Mindy and also on my parents. It was easy for me to lie there on drugs, but they had to stand around for a month wondering if I was going to die. I’m truly sorry for that.

Is it easy getting back to normality now, Richard? - Only because of the outcome, but I’ve become very aware of how lucky I am and how different thing could have been. I occasionally look back on the memory loss and laugh, not because I got better. I’m not making light of my accident by any means because the recuperation is complicated and I still have emotional issues.

Will you be going back to work? - Of course, I’ll probably be back this month. The doctors are nervous because even though the brain is functioning, it’s another thing to actually use it.

Did any of the Top Gear team expect you to give it up? - No way. The worst thing that could’ve happened did, but it didn’t have the worst result. I can’t wait to get back but I’ll get a lot of abuse! I’ll try and rise above it because not much can hurt me after this.

What are your plans for 2007? - I’m not going to throw a ‘I’m not dead’ party or anything, but I’ll be seeing lots of my close family and friends and celebrating because it could have been a hideous New Year. I also want the chance to say thank you to all the people who saved my life, namely Yorkshire Air Ambulance and the hospitals.

How has your life changed since the crash? - I’m very aware that I was very nearly a goner. I can’t help thinking about those people who aren’t so lucky. I’m now a lot keener to spend time with the kids because they’ve become my best mates. They believed I was a superhero, but so did I until it went wrong!

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