Pick Me Up! – 30 May 2019

ng

REAL LIFE

Look at

me now!

Inhospital.

I’dbeena

nursemyself

I’ve only had

a prosthetic

since last July

from the groin. My entire leg

had been taken away.

Luckily, my right leg was still

in tact. But the skin from the

thigh had been scrubbed away

by the tarmac, so it just looked

like a big, open wound.

And because of the damage

caused to my bladder by the

accident, and the added

trauma of the amputation, I

had two catheters inserted, and

three external drains to help

with leakage from my wounds.

I was so ill from the pain

medication I couldn’t even eat.

I had to be fed through a tube.

For those first two months,

I did little more than sit in bed,

and pray my wounds didn’t

become infected.

Seeing the nurses rush

around the ward, I thought

about my job, which I loved.

Will I ever be able to do

it again?

Doctors continued to

operate to graft skin from my

back on to my right thigh. It

was so painful.

Looking down at

my thigh as it healed,

my skin looked like

a reptile’s – scaly

and shiny.

My sister travelled

from her home on the

west coast of America

to be with me.

Finally, in January

2018, my wounds

had healed enough

to start rehabilitation. Having

worked with skin-graft

patients, I was amazed at how

well my thigh had healed. It

made me determined to get

better and start walking again.

I began learning to sit up,

and then balance on the edge

of my bed. It was difficult with

a whole leg missing.

I was supported by two

physiotherapists, with a walker

in front, and I built up my

balance gradually with

weight exercises.

Before long, I was up on

crutches, but only for seconds

at a time – with a wheelchair

behind me and therapists on

either side. But, despite how

unsteady I was, that February,

I was allowed home.

But it was difficult. Various

family members took it in turn

to live with me for the next

eight months, helping to lift

my wheelchair up the four

steps to my front door, taking

me to all my appointments,

and doing my weekly

food shop.

I thought I’d never live a

normal life again, and living on

disability support left me

with less money than

ever. I felt powerless and

sad, and started

experiencing anxiety,

making it hard to sleep.

As the months passed,

my confidence grew. I

still needed help to

do my food shop,

but in all other

ways was

regaining my

independence

• and last
  July, even
  learnt to
  walk on a
  prosthetic
  that strapped
  around
  my waist.
  A month
  later, my whole
  outlook was
  changed when a
  friend at a rehab
  clinic recommended an
  adventure company
  that runs indoor
  climbing sessions for
  people with disabilities,
  including amputation.
  At first, I was unsure.
  Only six months before, I’d
  struggled to climb the steps
  to my house. But my friend
  reassured me it would be
  great for my confidence.
  As the instructor

tightened my harness at my

first session, I was shaking with

nerves. I had to climb

without my prosthetic.

Although, initially, I felt

weak, I managed to

climb the whole 40ft

fake climbing wall, with

the instructor’s help. It

was exhilarating.

After that, I

went climbing

twice a week.

And now

my arms are

so much

stronger and

my balance

so much

better

that I can

climb the

same wall

in half

the time.

Rock

climbing

has given

me back

my confidence,

and has given me

a new passion.

Life will never

be the same after

my accident – but

thanks to my

rock-climbing

obsession, I’m

now reaching

new heights

as an amputee

climber.