"Talk of Vanessa reminded Michael of the terrible 1963 accident. Vanessa and Jason (in the backseat) had escaped harm. "We were saved by the Health Service," Michael believed. Taken to the Hereford hospital, Michael regained consciousness and gave the staff there the name of their doctor and friend, Jerry Slattery, "a great supporter of the Health Service." Slattery knew how to work the system and called on specialist consultants. When Michael awoke the first morning after the accident, he heard the words of his favourite childhood hymn, "Look away across the sea where mountains are prepared for me." For a moment Michael thought he had arrived in the hereafter, but it was the Salvation Army playing the hymn outside the hospital."