On February 12, 2002, I went to bed at midnight as a healthy 43-year-old, non-smoking, non-drinker male.

Four hours later I woke up having a serious brain haemorrhage.

Totally paralysed down my left side, I was rushed to Hurstwood Park Neurological Hospital at Haywards Heath for angiograms, CT scans, MRis and various other tests.

I was told I was very lucky to be alive but there was a possibility I might never walk or use my arm again.

Because of the position of the blood clot, it was decided I would need a craniotomy but this could not be done until the clot had dispersed naturally so I was transferred to Southlands Hospital in Shoreham for five months.

In July 2002, I went back to Hurstwood Park for the operation.

I spent 11 hours in the operating theatre, had five titanium plates screwed into my skull and 55 staples to hold it all together.

I went into ICU for four days where I suffered two post-op epileptic seizures and then on to ward for a further two weeks.

At last I was allowed home, still paralysed and in a wheelchair but alive. From July to December 2002 I received one hour per week physiotherapy from the East Sussex Community Rehab team.

This ended in December because the NHS states that for continued rehabilitation treatment you must require two of the following three disciplines - physiotherapy, occupational therapy or speech therapy.

Now I'm beating the system after many hours in the gym, private physiotherapy, hydrotherapy, acupuncture, reflexology, hypnosis and amatsu (a martial arts alternative medicine).

I can walk two miles without a stick or ankle support, have some use returning to my arm and have just got my driving licence back (restricted).

My HGV licence has been revoked and I've been told I might never work again but I hope to prove them wrong.

My income has dropped from £23,000 to £7,000. I'm paid 50 per cent of my basic wage by private health insurance plus I receive the disability living allowance.

My insurance payment is still subject to normal national insurance deductions but the NHS is refusing me treatment.

So who is receiving the benefits from my payments? If I refused to pay my taxes, I would be sent to prison, where I would receive free medical treatment.

At no time since February 2002 have I received any advice from social services or any other government departments as to what benefits I can apply for, assistance I'm entitled to or advice on employment retraining.

I cannot fault any of the medical staff, doctors, nurses, porters or cleaners - it's the NHS system that's letting everybody down.

-John Watts, Peacehaven