About 5 years ago, a guy called Adrian broke his leg while riding his bike. I think it was a traffic accident.
Ade frequents one of the support groups on the Internet. They talk, tell each other their stories, and help each other with advice, consolation, and encouragement. I was there too a few times, both giving and receiving.
Ade's leg mended of course. He was treated at the same hospital as me. He worked to help the Limb Recontruction Foundation, a charity run by the hospital staff.
Then two years after the original accident he broke the leg again. I don't know the full history, but I think the bone was infected, became weak, and broke easily. I think he then had a total of 8 frames fitted to his leg over a period of 5 years. What a nightmare! He's a physically fit person, he swims long distance races, but obviously a marathon is out of the question. To go through the agonising levels of pain, the lack of sleep, the loss of lifestyle and ambition (your horizons become very foreshortened when you know that your capabilities have become limited) for FIVE YEARS...!
A few days ago I read some of he email on the support group. Ade was explaining how he had fully accepted his decision to have the leg amputated.
What more can I say?
Shit. That could be me in 5 years.
