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Ellie Challis Walking Tall - Youngest person in the world to be fitted with flex run feetEllie Challis Walking Tall - Youngest person in the world to be fitted with flex run feet
Ellie, who lost her hands and lower legs to meningitis as a toddler, had …
14/04/2009
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Aimee Mullins - Talks about her Prosthetics at the World renowned TED ConferenceAimee Mullins - Talks about her Prosthetics at the World renowned TED Conference
Athlete, actor, activist and Dorset Orthopaedic client Aimee Mullins talks about her prosthetic legs …
08/04/2009
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Legless Dick rides again, albeit slowly, on a Dorset Orthopaedic ponyLegless Dick rides again, albeit slowly, on a Dorset Orthopaedic pony
Over fifty years ago, when I was a steeplechase jockey, I was given a …
08/04/2009
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Watch Tilley Lockey on Inside OutWatch Tilley Lockey on Inside Out
Another chance to see Tilley's story on the BBC Inside Out England programme which …
24/03/2009
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Dorset Orthopaedic win BHTA Excellence!Dorset Orthopaedic win BHTA Excellence!
We are pround to announce our recent recognition at the BHTA Awards in London, …
04/12/2008
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Legless Dick rides again, albeit slowly, on a Dorset Orthopaedic pony.

 

Dick Francis08/4/09

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

 

 

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Dorset Orthopaedic Company Ltd
Unit 11 Headlands Business Park
Salisbury Rd, Ringwood Hants BH24 3PB

 

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