'A key tip from me - never vacuum your stairs' - Mark White opens up on his agonising back injury after horror fall

Slips, trips and falls are top of the list when it comes to domestic mishaps.

I found this out the hard way on a Saturday afternoon in late January.

I'm embarrassed to admit, it was largely my own stupidity that landed me in hospital, and has kept me away from the office for almost two months.

As I prepare to step, very gingerly, back into GB News headquarters in the coming days, I thought I'd share with you some of what happened - and urge you to be a bit more careful than I was.

Breaking with the male stereotype, I was busy tidying up the house - my first mistake!

The second was deciding that in order to clean the stairs, I had to drag the vacuum cleaner up with me, one step at a time. You can see exactly what's about to happen - wish I had!

I was on the twelfth step, almost at the top, when the inevitable occurred.

A snagged cable pulled me off balance and gravity did the rest.

Airborne at some point, I smashed against the wall at the bottom of the stairs and landed in a heap on the floor.

I knew instantly I'd done something very serious to my back.

I was severely winded and in agony, fearing the worst.

Although I could feel my legs and wiggle my feet and toes, I was still very afraid about the potential damage to my spinal cord.

The intense pain had me stuck there on the floor for ages, the only person in the house, and my mobile phone in the bedroom upstairs.

There was no other option, I had to crawl on my stomach back up those stairs, one horrifically painful step at a time.

It took me more than half an hour, stopping after every step to let the pain subside enough to pull myself up another step.

I've never experienced that sort of pain, ever. A combination of that agony and shock made me vomit several times, that retching only adding to the strain on my spine.

When I finally made it into the bedroom, I was done. I ended up lying there on my back for hours, hoping the pain would ease a little. It didn't.

I was finally able to reach the phone and call for help. The ambulance was here within minutes.

The crew, two young female paramedics were brilliant. Soothingly reassuring, as they immobilised me for the journey into the back of the ambulance and off to hospital.

They gave me Entonox (gas and air) to help relieve the pain. Sadly, it did nothing at all to take the edge off.

Thankfully, some analgesic and morphine in the back of the ambulance did begin to help.

I have nothing but praise for the NHS. From the London Ambulance Service, to the major trauma team at St Mary's hospital, their care was incredible.

Like a scene from ER, the medics were all around me in resus, checking every inch of my body for injury.

The results of scans and X-rays confirmed I had indeed suffered a significant injury.
I had fractured and compressed vertebrae in my lower back.

Thankfully, the specialist said they were not recommending surgical intervention. Instead, it would be a slow and painful recovery period, with minimal movement for a while, and a back brace for any time I had to move. And lots and lots of painkillers.

Back home, a few weeks after the fall, and starting to climb the walls through boredom, I was determined to do a little bit of work again.

Writing the odd story for our Digital team to begin with, and then writing and voicing a few reports.

A month ago, it was time to get my mug back on the screen.

Although, not exactly mobile, I could take the brace off for a while when sitting down, enabling me to do some live reports.

And thanks to our brilliant technical team, they've kitted me out with my own little studio at home, complete with a lovely backdrop of central London.

And so, although I haven't been fit enough to get back into the office and see my colleagues again, at least I've been able to do my bit remotely. After all, the pandemic showed us how well we can adapt to working away from the office.
Two months after the accident, I am now preparing to ease myself back into life in GB News HQ and on the road.

It'll still be while before I'm dancing on the tables at the office party again, but things could have been so much worse.

I'll be forever grateful for the professionalism and care provided by the NHS and for the love and support of family, friends and colleagues, who all rallied round this old fool.

My advice to you. Leave the housework to someone else. If you have to, maybe just stick to washing the dishes.