Am just updating the original post. The deed was done on Feb 24 around 10.30 am, which by coincidence is when I gave up smoking. The operation went ok, the real bad news is that I contracted ARDS (google it if ya bored) and this has between 30% to 50% chance of killing should you be so lucky as to get it, I am really lucky, I have had it twice. The ARDS put me in ICU for 2 weeks in where I went completly barking mad, no seriously, complety mentally lost it, and I believe I hold some sort of record for soiling beds. Was on a ventoliter for 3 weeks, this is pipe cut in to your throat and they blow a ballon up in your throat to make you breath thru said pipe and also means you can’t speak. The bed soiling they tell me was due to anti biotoics I was given, all the skin on my ■■■ and back peeled off in big lumps. Must admit it was the worst experience of my life, and Gill, my partner, took up drink and cigarettes big style.
After 2 months of plonking about on one leg they gave me the false one. How did I get on? 5 stars, top of the class, walking around on it on the 1st day with crutches, impressed them so much they let me take it home on the 1st day. I can at the moment walk for short distances without crutches and it gets better slowly every week. Think they lied about walking without limp, I still have one, not massive,and that is improving with time as well. Soon as I got my false leg I tried driving with mixed results. First off was my commuter car, a shabby P reg Kia Pride, that was damned hard work, so had a go in Gill’s people carrier, that was much easier to drive, All this was the first day on my false leg so was rushing things a bit. We went a bought a Hyundai Accent with a slush box for me, never owned an auto before, quite like it and no way am I going back to a manual. Informed the DVLA of my missing bit, and they sent me a questionaire, filled questionaire in and they said no problem, keep your licences (even my motorbike).
Just to be on the safe side I hired a training truck for an hour just to get it clear in my own head I could drive a truck.Took an ex Royal Mail artic round the mean streets of Bolton for an hour, piece of cake, no problem. Still own the little Kia so tried that out again, no problem.
Thinking of going back to work, roping and sheeting is a no no, but feel confident to do trunking supermarkets, that kind of work. Went to Driver Hire told them about my missing bit, they stated they where quite happy to give me work.
Let you know how I go on in a couple of months.
Bloody 'ell,mate.Sorry to hear about that bit of misfortune.Not sure if or how I would cope with that.You’re a fighter,that’s for sure.All the very best for the future.
sounds like you had it rough mate, but on a lighter note, a lad i used to know well a year or 2 back had a wooden {i,m sure there not but i dont know what there made of } leg and he drives an artic on general haulage no probs, funny thing is i knew him 18 months before i found out, i just thought he had a bit of a limp ,chin up
well done mate,went through something very simaler myself 18month ago but i kept my leg well what is left of it,
sounds like you soiled more beds than i did ,after getting laid off from stobarts while still ill on medical grounds im now back tramping 5 nights out on general .
best of luck mate life throws up all sorts of challenges and you seem to have beaten yours
all the best,
Like everyone else, I’m full of respect for the way you’re dealing with this. Can I ask what happened for you to have to lose it some 25 years after the original accident? Best of luck with the agency work!
i dont know you but good luck with driving lorrys again
a fella i use to work with lost his left leg in a bike accident
he started working on the fair just for somthing to do and ended up building up and pullong down a set of dodgems
he went in for his class 1 and passed last i heard of him he was out driving artics
A big well done for getting through it. So nice to see that after such an ordeal you want to get back to work, as many would have probably given up under the circumstances.
Any employer should be able to see how eager you are.
grumpybum:
Like everyone else, I’m full of respect for the way you’re dealing with this. Can I ask what happened for you to have to lose it some 25 years after the original accident? Best of luck with the agency work!
It broke in a motorbike accident in the mid 80,s and even then it would not set, took 4 operations and 3 years of work before it was ok to resume work.
Then on Dec 10 2007 at 10.55 am I was dropping a trailer started to climb the cat walk and the leg just snapped. Funny thing is I was alone in the yard of a toilet distributers and the only thing I could do was to hope over to a toilet sat in the middle of the yard and sit on it for 30 minutes in the rain. Eventuaaly a fork truck driver come in to the yard and waqs very wary of me thinking I had lost it.
Had an operation to pin it the operation gave me ARDS and spent Xmas in Trafford hospital ICU.
In April me and the missus went to Spain in our caravan, and while on Holiday there the front (shin) started to open up and we had to return to the UK pronto as the bone was showing. This was diagnosed as Osteomylitis had more operations to remove pin, and long spells in hospital being fed antibiotics.
In Jan 2010 it was deemed impossible to cure, and amputated in Feb 2010.
lost me leg ,
first time i heard that i went out for a walk with a few friends,
must have been a solar eclipses an 80s summer ,
a wee bit heat n he s down ■■■■■■■■ ive lost me leg,
zbing welsh, allways moaning about something.
youre legs there so shut the zb up. (slight lie)
got released from the boy scouts an got hit by a car in his good leg.
thought i was unlucky.
I hope you manage to get full time soon - good luck 
} leg and he drives an artic on general haulage no probs, funny thing is i knew him 18 months before i found out, i just thought he had a bit of a limp ,chin up 
,after getting laid off from stobarts while still ill on medical grounds im now back tramping 5 nights out on general 