True love! Girlfriend of former soldier paralysed in a motorbike crash says: 'I’m not leaving his side'

Father-of-one Adam Hobbs, who served in Iraq, is suffering from locked-in syndrome, meaning complete paralysis of nearly all voluntary muscles.
The devastated girlfriend of a former soldier injured in a motorbike accident in Thailand has vowed not to leave his side until he returns home.



Adam Hobbs suffered serious injuries in the motorbike accident in Koh Samui last week, and has girlfriend Samantha Theobald by his side in hospital.

A fundraising campaign was set up following the incident that left Adam, from Cardiff, unable to breathe and with locked-in syndrome, meaning complete paralysis of nearly all voluntary muscles.

Adam can now only respond using his eyes.

Samantha, 31, is now desperate to get father-of-one Adam, a former Welsh Guard who served in Iraq, back to the UK.

She told Wales Online: “I am devastated and completely heartbroken. I cannot even describe my feelings about it.

“We had an amazing time together before the accident. I love his soul. I love everything about him. He’s just the most amazing man I have met in my entire life. I struggle to put it into words.”

The couple met on June 30 after they were both travelling alone. Samantha said: “I knew I loved him from day one. It sounds crazy and people will think what they want to think, but I knew it straight away.”

She has been by his side every hour she has been able to and said she has barely slept since the accident on August 8.

She said: “I want him home and I’m not leaving his side.

“I’m not giving up and neither is he - he’s a fighter. Every time I see him, he gets a little bit more strength.

“We don’t know what’s going to happen but we need help him keep the strength and get him back home.”

Samantha, from London, said: “We are overwhelmed at everything that has been raised so far, even from people who don’t even know us. There are no words to describe the thanks, and especially to my closest friends back home.

“I can’t wait to tell him properly exactly how much he’s loved.”

Samantha said they had seen an improvement in Adam and that he held her hand when she asked him to.

She said “it has given me a bit of hope”.