The amputation foundation, a very small charity

This isn’t an easy one for me to share, but I do appreciate that I have to in order to raise funds for a charity that has helped & will continue to help our son.

In August our son was in a motorbike accident, I did think I’d walk into a&e, tell him off & be home with him in tow. Unfortunately when I arrived at Queens medical centre, I was taken into a side room to be told how serious Kians injuries were. The nightmare that followed was something I don’t think I’ll ever forget.

Kian was put into a medically induced coma at the scene of the accident. This was due to the pain he was experiencing, from everything he had broken & from his head injury that was causing so much confusion. When Ki came off his bike he collided with a tree. He has no memory of this, why it happened or the accident itself. We’ve been told with major trauma this is normal.

Kian had two brain bleeds, a broken jaw, broken collarbone, breaks in his neck, 3 broken ribs, punctured lung, abrasions on both lungs, a small rupture in his spleen, broken left wrist, ACL sprain on one knee, ACL tear on the other, a dodgy hip & lots of bruising.

All things that will heal with time or have been repaired with metal plates & physio.

He had various surgeries over a 3 week period, 3 in fact all successful bar the last. We held onto all hope that his right arm, which he’d been unable to use after waking, would heal with help, but that wasn’t the case. Kian was told that the nerves that connect to his spine were severed fully with no means to repair. He can chose to have nerve transplant surgery & that is something he has till next month to think about but it doesn’t have a very good success rate.

Amputation is the thing he’s presented with. That’s where the foundation stepped in.

They put him in touch with another young gentleman who went through the same thing 12 months ago. This helped Ki no end, just talking to someone who KNOWS what it feels like, as no matter how supportive we are…. We will never fully understand. They’ve helped with PIP forms, assessments, been there, made him laugh, they took him for Christmas dinner ( a huge step) they have even come over for a coffee just to show support. They are on hand to help with disability questions, gadgets & cars.

The foundation want to be there for people who need them, just after amputation when they are alone in hospital, to help with the cost of hospital visits. Trust me when you basically live in a hospital for a month the costs soon mount up. Some people are not able to do this.

They also send the members on a week away, to show them life isn’t over. To show them that they can still live. So activities & meet others in the same boat.

I believe Kian started to look forward because of these amazing people & I am so glad we found them.

it would be nice to give back.

We just went through the worst 4 months of our lives. Everything changed in one phone call & it’s showed me that this can happen to anyone. Accidents do just happen & then you’re faced with a hurt you never thought possible. Kian should have been her getting ready to celebrate his 21st birthday & instead we were filling in disability forms.

Kian has come so far. When he was in hospital he couldn’t move himself, he couldn’t go to the toilet. He couldn’t feed himself. He repeated himself over & over. He shouted, he cried, he wanted to end his life.

Slowly, with help he’s starting to look forward. His memory is getting better, his bones are healing & he’s getting used to being left handed. He has to get used to the constant nerve pain, the bad days & people who stare. He will however get there, I believe the foundation will play a huge part in this & I would love to give back. They are a very small charity.

I’ll be running 110km over two days with friends in Scotland with UltraX. The elevation will be around 4500m over the two days & we will aim to raise as much money as we can. I have great people around, forever grateful for them also.

Thank you for reading. Means a lot.

Danielle