Captain Sir Tom Moore reveals the near fatal accident that inspired his £33m walk
The 100-year-old hero told ITV about the accident that led to his incredible charity feat.
Captain Sir Tom Moore revealed to ITV that a domestic accident which almost killed him 18 months ago led to his incredible charity walk in April.
During The Life and Times of Captain Sir Tom, he revealed: "I was in the kitchen, doing no harm to anybody. I was unloading the dishwasher and then I got tangled up with my own feet and I fell down and hit my head against the dishwasher. I fell on [my right] hip and fractured this hip and that was really where the trouble started, so I was in hospital for quite some time."
Captain Tom had broken ribs and punctured a lung, he couldn't breathe properly and the family prepared for the worst.
His daughter, Lucy Teixeira, said: "For a good few days it was really touch and go... really touch and go."
His other daughter, Hannah Ingram-Moore, said: "Did I think he would survive it? In all honesty, no, I don't think we did. "
More like this
Captain Tom continued "It was very painful, yes. But I survived. I came out all right."
To try and recover from the accident, Captain Tom brought himself a treadmill. "I didn't tell anyone what I was doing, I just went and got it."
But the pain is still there."I don't walk about easily," he said. "It's still quite a problem, but maybe one day it will get better."
The veteran of World War II embarked on his charity walk, 100 lengths of the family's six-acre garden, in April.
“One little soul like me isn’t going to make much difference,” he said at the time.
But during and after that iconic walk he has gone on to raise almost £33 million for NHS charities. He became a national hero in the process, earning himself the admiration of the nation in the dark days of the COVID-19 lockdown, an experience that was capped with a knighthood in the Queen's Birthday Honours.
What was next on his agenda? Writing his memoirs and then fixing his hip "so he can hop back on his mower", said Hannah.
Captain Tom concluded, with characteristic understatement. "It's been a really interesting 12 weeks."
If you're looking for more to watch, check out our TV guide.
