Author of The Buddha of Suburbia Hanif Kureishi is in hospital and is unable to move his arms or legs following a fall on Boxing Day, he said.
The British playwright, novelist and filmmaker, 68, who is best known for The Buddha Of Suburbia, Intimacy and Mother – shared a message on in which he said he was being treated at Gemelli University Hospital in Rome.
Mr Kureishi said he was in the city on December 26 when he fell during a walk from Piazza del Popolo to Villa Borghese and then back to his apartment.
He said: ‘I had just seen Mo Salah score against Aston Villa, sipped half a beer, when I began to feel dizzy.
Author of The Buddha of Suburbia Hanif Kureishi (pictured), 68, is in hospital and is unable to move his arms or legs following a fall on Boxing Day
The Buddha of Suburbia television series from 1995 starring (pictured left to right) Naveen Andrews, Roshan Seth and Susan Fleetwood
‘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,’ Mr Kureishi added.
He said he saw ‘a scooped, semi-circular object with talons attached scuttling towards me’ before realising it was his hand.
He added: ‘It occurred to me then that there was no co-ordination 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.’
Mr Kureishi said his wife heard his ‘frantic shouting’, adding: ‘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.’
He continued: ‘I cannot scratch my nose, make a phone call or feed myself. As you can imagine, this is both humiliating, degrading and a burden for others.
‘I’ve had an operation on my spine and have shown minor improvements in the last few days.’
Mr Kureishi informing his Twitter followers that he had a fall on Boxing Day in Rome, Italy
Mr Kureishi said he has ‘sensation and some movement’ and will soon begin physiotherapy and rehabilitation.
He 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.’
After his post, Mr Kureishi received well wishes from fans, friends and celebrities including TV chef and food writer Nigella Lawson, journalist Sarfraz Manzoor, who co-wrote Blinded By The Light, and comedian Sanjeev Bhaskar.
‘All love to you,’ wrote Nigella, and poet Michael Rosen gave him his ‘very best wishes’.
Author Kathy Lette wrote: ‘My darling friend, sending so much love your way.
Xxx’
British playwright novelist and filmmaker, Hanif Kureishi is best known for The Buddha Of Suburbia (pictured), Intimacy and Mother
Mr Kureishi (pictured) is known for tackling difficult subjects including the complexity of relationships and the marginalisation of minority groups
And author and journalist Mick Brown tweeted: ‘Dear Hanif, I’m shocked and deeply saddened to read this.
My thoughts are with you for a full and speedy recovery.’
‘Mouth artist’ Henry Fraser, who is paralysed from the waist down, told Mr Kureishi: ‘I’d be happy to offer any advice! Or just someone to talk to.’
Mr Kureishi is known for tackling difficult subjects including the complexity of relationships and the marginalisation of minority groups.
In 1985 he was commissioned by Channel 4 to write a play, which resulted in My Beautiful Laundrette, a film about a gay British Pakistani youth in 1980s London.
The film, directed by Stephen Frears, won the New York City Film Critics best screenplay award and received an Academy Award nomination for Best Private University original screenplay.
Hanif Kureishi said it was ‘unclear whether I will ever be able to walk again, or whether I’ll ever be able to hold a pen’
After tweeting about his accident and the state of his health Mr Kureishi received well wishes from fans, friends and celebrities
Mr Kureishi’s other screenplays include Sammy And Rosie Get Laid, London Kills Me, The Mother and Venus.
In 1990, Mr Kureishi published one of his most famous works, The Buddha Of Suburbia, which won the Whitbread Award for the best first novel and was later adapted for a BBC television series with a soundtrack by David Bowie.
The novel follows a bisexual British South Asian character called Karim Amir as he explores class, ethnicity, sexuality and culture in late 20th-century London.
The book is semi-autobiographical and draws on a number of Mr Kureishi’s own experiences growing up in London.
Mr Kureishi’s second novel, The Black Album, was published in 1995 and deals with Islamic fundamentalism and freedom of speech, and was adapted for the stage in 2009.
His third novel, Intimacy, came in 1998 and follows the story of a man contemplating leaving his wife and children after feeling rejected by his wife.
He was made a CBE in 2008 and sold his archive to the British Library in 2014, which included personal diaries and notebooks, and also the working material for his major works.