My Beautiful Laundrette author Kureishi hospitalised following a fall in Rome

My Beautiful Laundrette author Hanif Kureishi has been hospitalised following a fall in Rome, and says it is “unclear” whether he will ever be able to walk again, or hold a pen. 

Kureishi has asked his Twitter followers for advice on voice assisted hardware and software, which will help him “to watch, write - and begin work again". 

He revealed he fell on Boxing Day after taking a “comfortable walk”. He tweeted: “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. 

“I then experienced what can only be described a scooped, semi-circular object with talons attached scuttling towards me. Using what was left of my reason, I saw this was my hand, an uncanny object over which I had no agency. 

“It occurred to me then that there was no coordination between what was left of my mind and what remained of my body. I had become divorced from myself. I believed I was dying. I believed I had three breaths left. 

“It seemed like a miserable and ignoble way to die. Every evening before I go upstairs, put on the dishwasher, open the window and join my wife, I wonder how more opportunities there will be for these domestic felicities. 

“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.” 

Kureishi said he is in the hospital and cannot move his arms and legs. “As you can imagine, this is both humiliating, degrading and a burden for others” he said. 

He has had an operation on his spine and says he has shown “minor improvements” in the last few days. “I have sensation and some movement in all my limbs, and I will begin physio and rehabilitation and soon as possible. I want to thank the doctors and nurses at the Gemelli hospital, Rome, for all their extraordinary kindness, competence and care” he said. 

Kureishi added: “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. If you have any ideas about how you might help, please comment below and my son will be in touch. I want to thank all my readers for their love and support over the years. Love Hanif.” 

Kureishi’s other works include The Buddha of Suburbia, Intimacy, My Son the Fanatic and Love in a Blue Time, all published by Faber.