[BIO LAST UPDATED 03/03/25]

Hi, my name is George and I am currently 30 years old. On the 10th of September 2019 my life was turned upside down after a near fatal motorbike accident that left me with life changing injuries. Before you ask yourself why I am doing this let me explain a little more about who I was before the accident.

Since I was a very young child I was always interested in anything with two wheels but fascinated with motorbikes. My Father and eldest brother both rode motorbikes while i was young and this is what made me want one even more. Whilst I was still quite young my Dad had a quite serious motorbike accident himself and because of this my Mum would never let me have any type of motorbike until I was old enough. As silly as it may sound after all of that I still wanted a motorbike! After I left secondary school I carried on my education of Construction skills. I was lucky enough to be allowed to do Construction as a GCSE, which helped me decide what part of Construction trades I would like to pursue. I spent 1 year learning level 2 Heating and Ventilation at college which consisted of all basic Plumbing skills and knowledge for Domestic properties. I then went on a hunt for an apprenticeship and found one with the Marriott hotels group working as an engineer/handyman for the hotel. Once that was finished I moved on to a number of different jobs all within the same industry up until last year. I started what I thought to be a new chapter in my life working as a Technical Manager for a small family-run business called Just Taps Plus. This was a huge opportunity for me to show this company my full range of skills and I'm sure they will agree that in the short time I was there I made a huge impact on the customers and the staff. I put my all in to this job as I was thankful for them to give me a chance at a managerial role. Following alongside my career I found that riding a motorbike to and from work was cheaper than getting busses and trains everyday and as I was earning my own money I worked my way up through the different motorbike licenses. Last year I finally made it to the point where I could re-do my motorbike licence to unlock the ability to ride any size bike after being restricted for 2 years on an A2 licence. During my 2 years on the A2 licence I rode a CBR500R which was full power for this licence type, which I enjoyed riding but it was far from the bike I had always wanted. in March/April last year I went for my full motorbike test and passed with flying colours as I had with my previous tests! I was over the moon and was soon at the dealership discussing a new bike. I added extras to the bike and even sent it off for a custom paint job to transform the bike into what I had always dreamt for. It was everything I had always wished for and more and I will cherish every memory I have of being with this bike. 3 months later, on my journey home from work I suffered a near fatal accident. I had a huge open fracture of my left collar bone which had shattered along with a fractured scapular, 2 back fractures, a punctured lung, I had a dislocated right thumb which had snapped from the tendon, air got into my chest cavity due to the open fracture causing a partially collapsed lung, I ripped the artery to my left arm meaning I was bleeding out quite bad and I had also pulled the nerves (brachial plexus) to my left arm out from my spinal cord meaning I no longer had feeling or movement of my left arm. Also due to the severity of my nerve injury I also now suffer with Horners' syndrome which affects my left eye leaving it droopy and the pupil size does not match the right eye. The accident was so serious that I had to be rescued by the London Air Ambulance and flown to the Royal London hospital on the other side of London to where I was. If it wasn't for them coming to get me I do not know if I would be here today and for them I am thankful. I was in need of surgery and quick. I was left for 3 days before I was operated on as the surgeons needed other teams to come together such as plastic surgeons due to how big the opening was. They managed to attach a plate to what was left of my collar bone and also a hook plate to hold my arm into its socket. I had a pin put into my right hand to hold my thumb and tendon in its place and had a rather big cast on it for about 8-12 weeks. I not only had no use of my left arm or hand but my working hand had a huge cast on it which left me in need of a lot of help with most daily tasks..

The reason I am doing this is because everything I knew my life to be, is now gone. It is very hard for me to get back to "work" as the line of work I had spent my life training for requires 2 hands. I had always enjoyed building and making things since I was a child so it is immensely painful to think about going back to work in this industry now. As I said before, I have had a passion for motorbikes my whole life and my life was hugely based around motorbikes ever since I got my first moped at 17. It is killing me knowing I will never enjoy riding a bike as I used to, but it is also heavily depressing for me as riding was my source of release. Whether I was angry, happy, upset or just in a normal mood, going for a ride would help bring me back to reality and help me feel better. I no longer have this release. Other than riding, my other enjoyment/hobby was to play video games and you've guessed it, it is very hard to play most games with only 1 hand! I have lost any enjoyment in almost everything I do and life has become very plain without the things I enjoyed. For the first year and a half or more I did my best to stay home and rest unless I just needed to get out for a few hours so i could feel a bit more normal.

I have already had 1 operation on my nerves but there was too much scar tissue for them to do anything. My collar bone has now had all plates removed and seems to be ok but it is still daunting to do things that could cause it stress. I am still currently waiting on my neurologist (nerve doctor) to feel comfortable to amputate my arm as he wants to give my nerves time to heal to see how they knit and what feeling and movement, if any, comes back. So far, there really has been next to no difference in my feeling or movement but the chronic pain has been unbearable. I suffer with severe pain EVERY MINUTE of every day and have done since I arrived home. [UPDATE] I had a below elbow amputation in April 2024 which has helped me feel more normal and not have to carry a dead weight around my neck in a sling 24/7 which has been amazing for me.

I am not a person who enjoys asking for help and since my accident I have struggled to ask for help or felt bad for the constant help I get. I have gone from being almost completely independent to needing help for the simplest of things. When I first came home I needed help washing and dressing and have slowly learned to do this myself even if I am in pain and heavily fatigued. I am thankful for every family member who has helped, visited and been by my side but my Mother has been there for me in the darkest of times and for that I cannot thank her enough. Please help me to thank her, please help me to thank my family, please help me to try and start again and to find a new passion in life. I have lost the fire inside me and it pains me to be here asking for you to help me. 

I will be giving 25% of all money donated to the London Air Ambulance, as if it wasn't for them I believe I would not be here today. I will be giving this money to them personally as I am working with their patient liaison to meet the team who came and saved me that evening! 

The goal was set at £1000 but you were all generous enough so I have increased the goal and hopefully will keep this going until I am able to move on from this. I would really like to be able to gift the people who saved my life with a cheque filled with the gratitude of the public (and plenty of money ofcourse!) as the London Air Ambulance are only funded by donations, so your donation WILL go towards saving someones life, just like they did with mine.

Your money is going to go towards things I need to help me get through life without an arm. The items I actually purchase are dependant on your generosity. I will also look to use your donations to help me find a new passion in life and to help me find the reason I am still here! I have so far purchased a new mattress and a gaming chair that allows me to stay as comfortable as possible when I attempt to play games. Your generosity has also afforded me a Lay-Z-Spa hot tub which is the only time I am able to really relax and be free from most of my pain. I am also planning to do a yearly fundraiser for the London Air Ambulance, but this will be when things are a bit more straight forward for me.

I have pictures of my shoulder then and now, pictures of the bike then and now and more so hopefully I can put these somewhere if you want to see. I will also put any progress up on here if I can to keep you all posted!

If you have read this far you really are amazing and if you decide to leave a donation, me and my whole family will be ever so grateful for your generosity. It is people like you who help keep the balance in this world!

Thank you for your time! xx