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Some Clips from the BBC Programme The Trumpet Man
used with thanks to the BBC
Movement
Return to Sheffield Hospital
Miami
Amazing Progress
After the accident in August 1995, Clarence was in hospital in Sheffield—the nearest spinal injuries unit to where the accident happened—before being transferred to Hexham . He broke his fourth vertebrae down, which damaged his spinal cord resulting in paralysis from the neck down.
An important part of the treatment he received was physiotherapy. On discharge from hospital in June 1996 doctors had given up on his making any progress and declined to authorise any more physio. A key decision made 
by Clarence was to try to continue the physiotherapy and friends have helped find that. The decision was key because without his belief and drive none of the advances - described as 'miracles' by doctors - would have happened.
The physio that he started having in the UK combined with his daily routine delivered small results that led Clarence to believe that further treatment would improve the situation. Those improvements came about during three visits to Miami, where he received specialised biofeedback treatment. They manifested as 80% improvement in arm movement. This happened in the early 2000s.
Clarence was amazed that even after 5 years his body was wanting to heal itself.
At the beginning of 2002 Clarence reported: "My chest and back, roughly a quarter down seem to be getting more and more feeling and movement returning. The left arm is also noticeably stronger than last year, lifting higher and starting to move backwards and forwards. My fingers are still twitching but not necessarily under my commands."
The third visit to Miami in March 2002 showed continued improvement. A professor who treated him said: "Overall, it is apparent that Mr. Adoo has an incomplete spinal cord injury at C4 and continues to experience some long term motor neuron recovery. He has responded to the EMG biofeedback procedures extremely well, gaining significant increases in voluntary motor neuron recruitment, greater than what was obtained previously."
Another 18 months later, Clarence is introduced to some Russian treatment in Gloucester. 
A machine, which has been developed from the Russian space programme, had some encouraging results. Clarence says: "With only a few hours of usage, my fingers started tingling for the first time in eight years. Unfortunately a return visit in May 2005 was cancelled due to the doctor's unavailability.
It's easy for someone in a wheelchair to be thought of as someone of low value. But not Clarence. The Northern Sinfonia management has been generous to find him work that will keep him occupied. Clarence was an invaluable source of information in making the new concert hall at The Sage Gateshead user-friendly to people with disabilities.
Meanwhile another friend was busy inventing the Headspace instrument, which enabled him to perform on stage again in February 2006 at The Sage.