Alex Zanardi...
Jan. 30th, 2003 10:40 am...was interviewed by Peter White on R4 (repeated tonight at 9.30). Ha! Still a lunatic, but then he was/is a racing driver. His attitude to his artificial limbs--adjusting the setup to suit--seems to match exactly that of a racing driver and his car. So maybe the focus--monomania?--that seems necessary to even attempt to succeed at motor racing stood him in good stead (oops: unconscious puns will out).
Motor racing is deeply embedded in his discourse, not just when talking about racing, but also as a means of describing his progress. Granted, it is entirely possible that his English is limited to vocabulary from his profession, but the choice of words appears natural and apposite.
His attitude to being a role model, feeling a responsibility (or rather not, or only to a limited sense: he's a racing driver) as a high-profile (and presumably relatively wealthy) amputee, was refreshing too.
Immensely fun interview.