My Leg
This fair brought a tear to the eye and an oath to the lip, rest assured. 
This wasn't much fun either... 
Check out that scar... One Fine Sunny Afternoon......as I was riding my motorbike, I was involved in a four vehicle 'bump', as the local newspaper reported it. My right knee 'bumped' into a car head-on at a closing speed of approximately 100 mph. The bike was a bit of a mess; the car was a bit of a mess; my leg was none too clever. My leathers and body armour kept the limb hanging on, although my knee fractured in a number of planes and about 3¾ inches (95 mm) of femur shattered out through my leg and lay in the road, to be picked up by the police; it was subsequently sterilised, ground up and put back as a bone graft. Cool! The following pictures and links show the continuing five year process to reconstruct my leg: to unite the fracture which was somewhat reluctant to heal; to regain the lost length; and to get my knee from being locked straight to bending to about 90º. Nearly seven years have now passed and it's now a case of WYSIWYG: the mal-union has long healed; my leg is the right length and bends enough for most day to day stuff. Eight hours physio per day for a few years has been replaced by general exercises; the crutches don't really get a look in now - having been used continuously for 5 years with the occasional break for a wheelchair. I doubt many people are as fond of their right leg as I am of mine! Amongst the various passers-by, paramedics and the like, coconuts go to Mr Graham Keene, Mr Tudor Thomas and Professor Mike Saleh: Mr Keene was the reg on duty who thought it best to call in his then boss, Mr Thomas, rather than hack away himself! I should like to thank him for his honesty. He is now a consultant in Cambridge; Mr Thomas was my trauma surgeon who, against the odds, decided to try to save my leg rather than amputate and, together with Mr Keene, succeeded. Even his limits were eventually reached and he was honest enough to admit this and refer me to Professor Mike Saleh, the world's leading authority on leg reconstruction. To Messrs Keene and Thomas I therefore owe my leg; to Mike, I owe its near normality, and a lot more besides. His own website gives a more clinical view - I am Case 1. Dr Stelios Michael warrants a special mention as Numero Uno Gas Man - the chap who stopped it all from smarting too much!
 My Top Surgeon giving me a drive in his Top Toy! |
