But seven years on, the remarkable medical student has officially become Dr Van der Poll after graduating from the University of Bristol.

Not only that, but Xander will balance working as a doctor with training for the Paralympics, as he paddles towards Los Angeles 2028.

In 2018, a 19-year-old Xander was walking his dog when he stopped to climb his favourite tree. Swinging upwards with arms made strong by years of rugby, he slipped and fell 3 metres onto the roots below.

“That was the last time I felt my legs,” he recalled.

Xander had broken his back and punctured a lung. As he slipped in and out of consciousness, he was wheeled to the operating theatre he had done work experience in just a few years previously.

Xander spent nine hours in that theatre and would remain in hospital for nearly four months.

“I really did a number on myself,” Xander laughed, seven years on.

“You just don’t expect it to happen to you. I was in incredible pain for a few weeks and I was really worried about all the things I couldn’t do. I thought I wouldn’t be able to be a doctor, play rugby or just have a normal life.

“I was really lucky to have my family around me. My mum sat by my side every single day.”

Xander took his first year medical exams from his hospital bed, six weeks to the day from his accident. The University of Bristol sent an invigilator to the hospital.

Xander, who grew up near Stratford-upon-Avon, said: “People’s opinions are actually a lot more debilitating than your actual disability.

“People told me all sorts after the accident. During one medical placement, a doctor sat me down and listed all the things I couldn’t do.

“The funny thing was, the list was all based on assumptions, and none of the assumptions were actually true.

“Hospitals are already quite accessible and Bristol Uni was very helpful at fostering a level of independence.

“Being in a wheelchair breaks down a lot of barriers between doctor and patient, it humanises me. When I come wheeling into the room it disarms people. I’ve never had anyone doubt my abilities.”

Xander aced medical school – even winning an achievement award from the University – and excelled at several para sports, including athletics, rowing and basketball.

Eventually he found canoeing, and he now paddles a va’a – a one-person, double-hulled boat, used for millennia in Polynesia and now used in paracanoe racing.

He recently competed in his first European Championships (missing out on the finals by 0.2 seconds) and is now a hopeful for the 2028 games.

Meanwhile, he and his wife, Kirsty Van der Poll, who is an amputee, run a popular Instagram channel aimed at “destigmatising and showing the joy in disability”.

“It shows us living every day like it’s our last and like it’s a gift,” Xander said.

Kirsty won fourth place at the ISA Para Surfing World Championships in California last November and is studying for a Master’s in Physiotherapy. The pair married in June and honeymooned in the Philippines.

After graduating, Xander plans to work in A&E, while training hard and continuing to inspire others online.

“We [my family] quite often look back and see how far we’ve come. I’m still figuring stuff out about life but I can do a lot more now than I ever thought I’d be able to.”

Professor Chrissie Thirlwell, Head of Bristol Medical School at the University of Bristol, said: “Xander has been a really talented medical student and he will no doubt go on to become a brilliant doctor. We can all learn from him. 

“I look forward to seeing what he goes on to do next, and hopefully cheering him on at the 2028 Paralympics!”