SNN_August 2020 Issue FA_low res

SPINAL NETWORK NEWS 7
Back in Tune
The Spirited Recovery of Nick Cornish to Play the Oboe Again
Nick says after what he has been through “It is almost a miracle for me now to
be playing classical music with others, at a professional level”.
For Nick Cornish, being able to play music is an essential
part of his life. So, when that was suddenly taken away
from him in November 2015 in a mountain biking (MTB)
accident, he was “crushed”. The professional oboe player
from Dunedin was out riding with his two brothers-in-law
when things went awry. He sustained a C-6 and C-7
fracture and peripheral nerve damage, which affected the
extensor muscles in his fingers. He had an incomplete
spinal cord injury. The now 60-year-old rehabbed at the
Burwood Spinal Unit, and set the goal of being able to
play the oboe again. The initial prognosis was bleak, and
his days as a professional oboe player seemed to be over.
But he has never given up and, after almost five years of
hard work and dedication, Nick is back on track. “I’ve
been very fortunate, to get my oboe playing back close to
where it was before,” he said proudly. We caught up with
Nick on his emotional journey, and how his love of music
has played a huge role in his recovery.
Take me back to November 2015…what happened in
your MTB crash?
I was up early to attend the Giant Demo Day at “The
Redwoods” Mountain Bike Park at Wakari Road, Dunedin.
I was keen to trial a couple of full suspension MTBs, as I
was genuinely fascinated to know how it felt to ride one. I
enjoyed the smooth ride and found myself swishing
around corners faster than usual in no time! Just before I
left the bike park entry, my brother-in-law, Brent, turned
up with Mark, my other brother-in-law, and we filled in
the forms together which said “We understand that, in the
event of an accident, no responsibility falls on to the Giant
company”, so we had a good laugh at that point!
I biked to a high point in the Redwoods, where we had
It took a few days for me to
realise that my voice was not
the same. This was upsetting,
and the impact of this loss
took several days to sink in.
arranged to meet. Then, I made the fateful decision to
attempt an advanced track called the “Roller Coaster”,
which I had ridden only once before with Brent. As I
approached the double bump, which Brent had said was
gnarly, I had lots of zip in the wheels, but it was too much.
At which point I came clean off the first steep rise into the
air, and landed head first on to the hard-as-concrete track
below.
My neck took the full force of my bodyweight. I’m only 77
kg, but it was enough to do some serious internal damage.
It was a shattering blow to my body, and I remember
thinking “I’ve screwed up big this time!” My next thought
was “There go my chances of playing with the New
Zealand Symphony Orchestra next week”; as I was due to
fly to Wellington for a week of work to play oboe in
Stravinsky’s Rite of Spring. I lay prostrate on the ground,
hardly able to breathe, but knowing that I had injured my
neck, as an overwhelming tingling sensation was causing
great discomfort in my right arm.