PARALYSED Tom Nabarro has paid tribute to his girlfriend on his return to the family fold.

The former Cherwell School pupil dislocated his neck in a snowboarding accident in April 2007, and has been paralysed from below the shoulders ever since.

Mr Nabarro, 24, suffered three cardiac arrests and was unconscious for three weeks following the accident in Bulgaria.

He was unable to speak for three months after undergoing a tracheotomy — which saw a tube inserted into his throat to pump air into his lungs. He then spent another year at the Stoke Mandeville Hospital.

He is now preparing for his future with his girlfriend of four years, Ellen Stewart, who will soon begin living with him in a purpose built extension to his grandfather’s home in Standlake.

He said: "She is the reason I am still here. Through the darkest moments that was my main thought. I did not want to let her down – that is why I kept pressing on.

"If I would have given up that would have upset her, and that is the last thing I would want. It was always her in the back of my mind. That was my motivation."

Mr Nabarro left hospital in August to begin living in a ‘cramped and uncomfortable’ spare living room at his grandfather’s home.

But last week he moved in to a new extension, complete with kitchen, bathroom hoist, bedroom and full-time carer’s bedroom at the house.

Mr Nabarro added: "It was a very surreal moment when I moved in. There was obviously a huge relief. It was quite emotional.

"It is so good to be comfortable and have space to whizz around in my wheelchair. It is a brilliant feeling to be able to do what you want with the space."

Despite his injuries Mr Nabarro completed his electronics degree and today will begin work at the Roke Manor Research telecommunications company.

He will commute to Romsey, near Southampton, twice a week but will work the other three days from his home and eventually from a specialist pavillion which is being created in his grandfather’s garden.

Mr Nabarro said: "I was very worried from the beginning that I would not be able to work because of the accident.

"But I kept it in my mind that my ability to think hadn’t changed. I am nervous but I am absolutely looking forward to it – it is going to be another good challenge."

Mr Nabarro’s grandfather Michael Graham-Jones, 88, said: "It is very nice indeed to have him here. He is astonishingly forward-looking all the time. He is always looking forward, and not looking backwards with regret."