All images courtesy of Henry Fraser
“My accident took me back to art. Adversity has given me a gift.”
Henry Fraser has been on an incredible journey since experiencing a life-changing accident in his teenage years, which has left him paralysed from the shoulders down. From starting his recovery to becoming an accomplished artist and writer, his determination and positive outlook have led him to triumph in ways most of us could not imagine.
In his first book, ‘The little big things’, Henry unflinchingly describes the day that changed his life. A life that was full of promise. Like his big brother before him, Henry had been offered a rugby scholarship to attend Dulwich College and his life was a whirlwind of activity, from training to the exhilarating adventures and freedoms that came with moving to London.
Whilst on holiday in Portugal with his friends and after completing his AS level exams, Henry took a fateful dive into the sea, hitting his head on a sandbank. Henry describes the truly frightening days and weeks that followed in hospital in an unfamiliar country and the poignant moment he was reunited with his parents. He writes with honesty about those dark days - the incredibly difficult period he went through after his accident and the utter devastation he felt on the day when he first saw his reflection, a ‘razor thin, weak young man’ who was lost in a bulky wheelchair. A reflection that was simply not his own. He shares the deeply raw yet beautiful moment when later that night at 4 am, alone and exhausted in his room, he felt a calmness descend when he realised that there was no point in being angry or sad and that he ‘might as well just get on and face what was coming.’
Thus, he began his journey towards recovery, acceptance and happiness. For Henry, choosing to ‘accept and adapt’ has meant working hard to be as physically fit as possible and to embrace opportunities as they arise, no matter how daunting they might initially seem. He shares that ‘accepting my situation was the single most difficult thing I did.’
Henry grew up in a loving, close-knit, fiercely competitive and busy family, the third of four brothers, with parents who encouraged their sons to channel their energy through sports. Art, design and creativity were also part of the fabric of his family life. Henry was the quieter, more cautious and careful brother, but he was also creative and had an early love for art. However, by the time he reached his mid-teens, Henry was falling out of love with art, finding himself simply trying to get through each lesson rather than actually enjoying it. It wasn’t until a few years after his accident, during a period of enforced rest to try and heal a bedsore when Henry, utterly bored, found a basic drawing app on his iPad that he could use with his mouth stick that his Dad had adapted for him after seeing something similar on the Christopher Reeve website. Although the process of learning to draw in this new way was often frustrating, it reminded Henry how much he had loved art. After posting his first drawing on social media, he was encouraged by the comments he got and over the coming months continued to draw, to experiment, and to share his work. His efforts eventually led to commissions and his first exhibition in 2015.
In a brilliant and telling social media post in 2020, Henry shared a photograph of his 14-year-old self drawing a tonal self-portrait from a photograph propped up in front of him. A contrasting photograph below depicts Henry painting a more recent, and much more vibrant and colourful self-portrait, this time using his mouth. The caption below reads ‘my accident took me back to art. Adversity has given me a gift’. It is this sentiment that truly sums up Henry and his approach to life.
Since his accident, there have been many words used to describe Henry and none more so than the word ‘inspirational’. The words I would use, in turn, are humble and grateful. In the following years, Henry has both exhibited and sold his art, he has written two bestselling books and is a motivational public speaker in demand. Yet when I asked Henry if he feels like an artist, or a writer, he said no. Not yet. What qualifies someone to be known as an artist? Is it someone who draws or paints, or creates sculptures, writes books, poems, films, or other things which can be considered as works of art? Because if it is then Henry Fraser is both an artist and an author.
In his second book, ‘The Power In You’, Henry uses his own challenges and achievements to encourage us all to learn to accept our pasts, to live in the present, to shape a positive future, embrace positivity, and to count all the ‘big little things.’ These are hard for so many of us to do, for so many different reasons. After his accident, Henry couldn’t talk easily due to the tracheotomy he’d needed and, in that time, he learned a newfound appreciation for the power and beauty of words. He learned to listen, to really listen, and to hear both what was said and that which was not said. From the countless cards, letters and messages he received he felt, really felt, the way in which words could truly convey love, support and hope. In sharing his experiences in this second book, Henry illustrates that it is possible to not only accept and adapt, but to embrace and enjoy a new way of living. To borrow Henry’s words, “You can’t be what you can’t see.” By sharing his experiences we can see what it means to be positive, to see hope lived and determination triumph. For Henry, the unimaginable accident which forever changed his life also created a space which allowed him to become mentally stronger and to see the beauty and joy in the everyday, in the details beyond the functional.
Life is ‘much richer and larger in scope, there is so much to appreciate, so much to become involved in, so much to be thankful for.’
In the early years following Henry’s accident, he was supported not only by his friends and family, but also by other men whose lives had been irrevocably changed after suffering injuries which left them with life-long disabilities. In the first months and years, Henry focused on his physiotherapy, on defying all expectations of what it was possible for him to do with the level of injury he had sustained. During that time, he went to visit the rugby player Matt Hampson. Matt had also suffered life-changing injuries when a scrum collapsed on him but had gone on to set up the Matt Hampson Foundation which provides advice, support, relief and/or treatment to anyone suffering serious injury and/or disability. Henry remembers seeing that Matt had this fantastic home, a house which empowered him to live independently - he was, as Henry recalls, ‘actually living his life’. This was a huge moment for Henry, a catalyst to start thinking about the future, about life, about what he was going to do and be. What a future it turned out to be!
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About Rarity Life:
Rarity Life is an online publication that offers those affected by rare disease, disability and cancer the opportunity to create content that is truly inclusive, to unify our collective experience and to celebrate and share our differences.
To read the latest edition and all previous releases of Rarity Life click here.
HENRY FRASER’S ARTWORK:
Check out Henry Fraser’s artwork by visiting his website at www.henryfraserart.com