KARACHI: British-Pakistani writer of The Buddha of Suburbia, the international bestseller of 1990, Hanif Kureishi collapsed in Rome and says he may not be able to walk or write again. He wrote in a tweet that since the incident that occurred a few days before New Year, he is unable to move his arms or legs, Dawn.com reported.

The Oscar-nominated scriptwriter and author said in a series of tweets on Friday that he thought he was dying after the fall. “I had just seen Mo Salah score against Aston Villa, sipped half a beer, when I began to feel dizzy. I lent forward and put my head between my legs; I woke up a few minutes later in a pool of blood, my neck in a grotesquely twisted position, my wife on her knees beside me,” he wrote.

The author is in hospital and has had a spine operation that led to only “minor improvements”.

The 68-year-old said he felt like “he had become divorced” from himself and believed he was dying and had only “three breaths left”.

British-Pakistani writer unclear if he’ll ever be able to hold a pen

“From the floor my wife heard my frantic shouting. She saved my life and kept me calm. For a few days I was profoundly traumatised, altered and unrecognisable to myself. I am in the hospital. I cannot move move my arms and legs,” Kureishi said.

He added that he cannot even scratch his nose or make a phone call or even feed himself, calling it both “humiliating, degrading and a burden for others.” He comforted his followers by adding that he has sensation and some movement in all his limbs and will soon begin physio and rehabilitation in an effort to get better. He also thanked the doctors and nurses at the hospital for taking care of him.

“At the moment, it is unclear whether I will ever be able to walk again, or whether I’ll ever be able to hold a pen, if there is any assistance that I would be grateful for, it would be with regard to voice-assisted hardware and software, which will allow me to watch, write and begin work again, and continue some kind of half life,” he wrote.

Lastly, he asked his followers to send in ideas that might help him recover. “I want to thank all my readers for their love and support over the years. Love Hanif,” he concluded.

Kureishi is known as an author of books like My Son the Fanatic, Intimacy, The Last Word and screenwriter for My Beautiful Laundrette, Sammy and Rosie Get Laid, and The Mother and Venus.

Published in Dawn, January 8th, 2023