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.”
Graham was standing by his motor when another car slammed into him, leaving him with compound fractures and multiple other serious injuries to both legs. He was given the option to amputate his left leg, but he instead opted for an 18-month programme of treatment to try to rebuild it.
However, the accident left the leg with a significant bow - meaning it was shorter than the other - and he particularly struggled with the injury in his 50s. But two years ago doctors at Northern General Hospital, Sheffield, fitted a special frame to his left limb to re-align his ankle, so it was directly below his knee. And Graham said he would “never forget” the moment when he was finally able to stand on two straight legs again following the successful treatment.
He said: “I will never forget the first day I stood up on two legs that were the same length for the first time in nearly 34 years. I knew something amazing had happened. I had to keep looking at my leg over and over again; it was straight and looked amazing.”
Graham, from Sheffield, had lived a fairly active lifestyle despite his leg deformity following the accident more than 30 years ago. He had even managed to play rugby and complete challenges including a parachute jump from 3,000ft and a climb up to Machu Picchu in the Andes.
However, in 2014, he was referred to doctors as his knee began to wear out and became too painful for him to do any of the physical activities he enjoyed. Seven years later, in 2021, he saw a specialist who referred him to the limb reconstruction unit and consultant orthopaedic surgeon Simon Royston.
And Mr Royston proposed fitting a special device, called an Ilizarov frame, to Graham’s leg, a treatment for which Sheffield is a specialist centre. The surgery involved deliberately breaking the tibia, realigning it and letting it heal, which left the former miner in agony.
Graham said: “I have never felt pain like I did during the stretching process, but a couple of months later, I had joined a gym and was strengthening my left leg, all with the fabulous support of the physio team. Once the frame was removed in February 2022, the steady process of learning to walk again started. I can now walk with hardly any limp, for significant distances and all without the regular, daily pain that I had before or having to put a wedge insole in my left shoe to stop me stooping.”
One of the targets Graham set himself was to be able to run again, which he achieved just before Christmas.
He added: “I think the last time I ran prior to the operation was in 2006. I guess this video is testimony to what can be achieved if you find the right care and support and are willing to take on the challenge to achieve your goals.”
Mr Royston said Graham’s bone had healed “faster than average” and said this was down to the work he’d put into his rehab.
He said: “The tibia can be slow to heal, especially when it has been damaged previously, but Graham healed faster than average and that is partly down to how he applied himself to the rehab. The patient does most of the work. It is great to see him doing so well.”
