Aeneas Wilder, who is unable to feed himself following the life-changing cycle crash, is worried his wife will be sent home to Japan.
11:21, 21 Dec 2025Updated 11:22, 21 Dec 2025
Aeneas with his family
A dad who was left paralysed after an horrific cycling accident fears he could be separated from his family if authorities send his wife home to Japan. Aeneas Wilder, 58, was on his bike heading through Queen’s Drive in Edinburgh in May when he was involved in a crash with a pedestrian.
Aeneas flew over the handlebars and landed on his head. But the visual artist suffered a severe spinal injury – paralysing him and leaving him in a wheelchair which he steers with his chin. The dad-of-two has been left unable to feed himself, needs a hoist to move from his bed, carers to dress and bathe him, and is unable to live at home or work.
The horrific accident happened while his wife Naoko Obara and 13-year-old son Roy were waiting to move to Edinburgh. Aeneas, from the capital, and their daughter Moira, 17, came back to Scotland in 2022 so Moira could attend school here, Edinburgh Live reports.
The couple met in Japan in 1998, and lived their life there while Aeneas travelled for his job as a visual artist. He continued to pay taxes in Edinburgh. Following the accident, Naoko had to leave her job in Japan to be by his side, and is now living in Edinburgh on a tourist visa – which runs out in February – and is unable to earn money.
Naoko is awaiting immigration status, which if denied will see her forced to head back to Japan. After being taken to the Royal Infirmary in Edinburgh following the accident, Aeneas was then transferred to the Queen Elizabeth National Spinal Injuries unit in Glasgow and is now in a Lasswade care home receiving daily physical therapy.
Aeneas, who is unable to feed or bathe himself, said: “I was a very happy-go-lucky artist, who enjoyed cycling around Edinburgh. I was on my bike along Queen’s Drive in Edinburgh just getting to the bottom of the road, and this woman just stepped out in front of my bike. I went over the handlebars and landed on my head.
Aeneas has been left paralysed from the armpits down(Image: Supplied)
“When I was tested in the Royal Infirmary, I had no feeling in any part of my body below the shoulders. Slowly but surely I start to get movement back in places.
“I’m in a wheelchair, operating it with my chin. I can’t walk, I can’t move around, I can’t do anything like that – but more and more signals are coming back.”
Aeneas is undergoing daily physical therapy, which isn’t a definite fix – but could mean he is able to move and walk. His family are able to visit him in the care home, though his children also have school or work keeping them busy.
Daughter Moira has now finished high school in Edinburgh. Aeneas said: “I brought Moira to Edinburgh because that’s where I’m from and she wanted to try out school here.
“Unfortunately that was during Covid, so we weren’t able to leave Japan until 2022 and by that point she was in third year. Both children are British citizens because of me, and we’re in the process of applying for immigration for Naoko on compassionate grounds.
“If that’s not granted, my wife has to go back to Japan and my son would go with her. Roy is going to Tynecastle High School, and he loves it. It’s his world. He comes up to the care home in Lasswade, but he’s a teenager and it’s not where he wants to be spending his time.
“My daughter is quite concerned. She recognises we’re struggling. Moira has started a cleaning job, she left college in Glasgow. She’s bringing in money but it’s not so much for the family, but to be an independent person and not rely on my wife and I – she realises things have changed and our world has been turned upside down.”
The family are currently balancing costs of living, physical therapy for Aeneas, and the costs of securing Naoko residency in the UK. Both Aeneas and Naoko are unable to work.
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He said: “My circumstances as a visual artist mean I’ve never met the government’s threshold of £29,000 plus £3,000 for every child to afford for my family to come to the UK. My wife had to leave her job in Japan to come over here, and is currently on a tourist visa which runs out in February.
“Suddenly, because of this accident, we find ourselves in a situation where my wife is pleading with the government for a right to remain. We would also never be in a position to pay £100 a session for the physical therapy sessions if it weren’t for the GoFundMe, and we’ve also got the visa fees for Naoko.
Aeneas at work(Image: Supplied)
“It’s pretty terrible, but there’s nothing we can do about it. I’m facing being in a wheelchair for the rest of my life, and if I’m in a wheelchair for the rest of my life then I’ll need to move to an accessible home.”
Despite the situation, Aeneas has remained “determined and hopeful”, adding: “I’m in a pretty difficult situation personally – but so are my family. For Naoko, once she’s officially registered a request for immigration status she’s allowed to stay in the UK until the immigration status has been granted or denied.
“It’s taken a good while to get all the documents in and make sure it’s all airtight. It’ll take them six to 12 months to make a decision, and Naoko isn’t able to earn any money until that time. She’s been in limbo since she came over in June. We will survive, we’ve got some income from my business as an artist. We’re trying our best.”
You can donate to help Aeneas, Naoki, Moira and Roy here.