Colin Rouse MBE
Colin suffered a terrible accident when the boat he was skippering for the Joint Services Sail Training Association blew up on Poole Quay in Dorset. Not a person to dwell on his misfortune he continued to develop his sailing skills and is now skippering adventures across the Atlantic for the British Limbless Ex-servicemen’s Association.
Colin is an extremely active above knee (transfemoral) amputee. He can destroy in a matter of hours any prosthetic product that is not up to the job. This has helped our research into socket comfort tremendously. If the socket is not comfortable and functional then Colin will just not be able to live his life without limits. We are now prototyping our flexible silicone sockets with silicone gel liners and all thanks to Colin’s input. In the 2009 new years honours list Colin received the Member of the Order of the British Empire for his services to BLESMA. An honor truly deserved as he continues to support, encourage and motivate those servicemen who have so tragically lost their limbs in the service of their Queen and country.
Bob Watts, Prosthetist and Managing Director.
"Back in 1999, I was working on a military training yacht in Poole Harbour. A gas leak caused an explosion and I lost my left leg above the knee. I went to the NHS but they couldn't give me the leg I needed.
So I contacted Dorset Orthopaedic who provided the right limb for me. It's so comfortable, I often don't know I'm wearing it. Of course, my legs still get sore after lots of walking, but that happened even before the amputation.
The difference with Dorset Orthopaedic isn't just in what they make. It's in how they go about it. They put patients' interests first, not financial matters. If you need something, they get the job done.
I do a lot of work for BLESMA, the British Limbless Ex-Service Men's Association. Servicemen suffer the trauma of going to war. It's the same when you lose a limb. You have to fight to get your life back on course. A positive attitude is so important. Amputees need to focus on the things they can do and set out to do them. Never give in."
Colin Rouse
