![]()
Legless Dick rides again, albeit slowly, on a Dorset Orthopaedic pony.
08/4/09
Over fifty years ago, when I was a steeplechase jockey, I
was given a leg-up onto my horse in the paddock before every
race. Now that I am long past my eighty-eighth birthday, I
no longer ride horses – nor have I done so for over twenty
years. However, these days, I again need a little help in the
leg-up department.
Nearly two years ago I damaged my right foot
and, even though it was only a minor injury, it would not heal
due to my poor circulation. As a result I lost my foot, together
with the lower half of my shin. I looked upon the loss as just
another challenge in a life-time full of them, and I set about
spending the rest of my days in a manner that did not involve
sitting forever in a wheelchair until the Lord decided that
my time was up.
The Douglas Bader Rehabilitation Centre at Queen
Mary’s
Hospital in Roehampton was my first stop, where parallel bars
and a strange inflatable false leg were my introductions to
walking again. It is often said that teaching old dogs new
tricks is impossible. Well, it’s not. But, I tell you,
it’s not easy, and it requires a lot of damn hard work.
The
final hurdle, but far from the final step, was to have a new
permanent prosthetic leg fitted by Bob Watts and the team at
Dorset Orthopaedic. Their motto is ‘Life Without
Limits’ and Bob told me I should be able to dance on
my new leg. However, I think that, at my age, there probably
are some limits, especially as I couldn’t dance before
I lost my leg, hence I doubt I would have be able to do so
after, even with the fancy new foot that Bob had given me.
And
so it remains, nearly a year later. I still can’t
dance, but I can walk, and I do so every day. And every time
I walk, I silently thank Bob and the team in Ringwood for their
skill, their care, their friendship and, above all, for their
leg. Without it I would be stuck in that wheelchair, waiting
for God, and hoping he’d be quick about it. But I’m
not. In fact, I’m enjoying my life to the full, and I
just might look up dance classes in the Yellow Pages.
Heigh Ho!
Dick Francis

New Burton clinc opens it's doors!
Heather takes to the ice...
Charley Streather
Rasika's Bridge to Dorset
