An ex-miner whose leg was crushed in an accident hopes to take on Mount Kilimanjaro after doctors managed to straighten the limb - for the first time in 34 years. Graham Parker, 60, has had more than 30 operations on his left leg after it was smashed in the accident on the road into Mansfield Colliery, Nottinghamshire, in 1988.
But after the limb was left shorter than his right leg, he struggled as he got older. Now, after medics fitted a special frame to his left limb to re-align his ankle, he says he has been given his “life back”. Graham now plans to climb Ben Nevis this summer to raise funds for the unit at the Northern General and ultimately he hopes to hike up Kilimanjaro.
He said: “When I climb Ben Nevis it will be an achievement for me, but more than that, it will be a testimony to the way the NHS has cared for me for over 34 years and made sure I could achieve a lifetime goal. Raising funds will be a small way of expressing my gratitude for the incredible support I got from the surgical and nursing team. Putting it simply, they gave me my life back and for that I will be eternally grateful.”
