Husband, Father and Former Footballer Becomes the First Person in the UK to be Fitted with the Evolutionary Genium X4 Microprocessor Knee.
In July 2016, Shaun Whiter, 35 from Hertfordshire was mowed down by a drink driver, dramatically changing his life forever.
Husband and father of two, Shaun has always been mad about sport and growing up he found himself playing for the school and county teams. Later on, he then moved into semi-professional football playing for Newmarket Town. During pre-seasons, Shaun would often be out on his bike or competing in triathlons to keep fit; “I just loved Sport”.
On 1st July 2016, it was the night before pre-season training was set to begin, and the club had just laid a new £250k pitch. “We were due to be the first to train on it so I was really excited”, said Shaun. “I’d even bought a brand-new pair of yellow boots”.
After helping a friend to change his tyre on the side of the road, life took a dramatic turn when a drink driver smashed into him, crushing his legs and left him with devastating injuries.
Shaun woke up in Addenbrookes Hospital after losing 6 pints of blood and having had both his legs amputated through the knee. The excitement of pre-season and the anticipation of playing on a brand-new pitch, dissipated in the blink of an eye; Shaun ended up never doing pre-season or kicking a football again.
Shaun the spent a month rehabilitating in Addenbrookes, during which time he was introduced to the world of prosthetics available through the NHS. “I had the date of my first prosthetic fitting appoint set up for August 15th and I was really looking forward to it”, said Shaun. Anticipation once again turned to despair and disappointment after being told he wouldn’t walk again, wouldn’t run, wouldn’t ride a bike again and life seemed bleak.
“I wasn’t going to accept that”, said Shaun. “After being introduced to the wonderful world of Dorset Orthopaedic in September 2016, I met two amazing people; Jamie Gillespie and Kat Sizer at the clinic in Amersham and I have been with them ever since”, continues Shaun. “They made me believe in myself again, and they worked out a plan so that I could be active again”.
Just 5 months after his accident, Shaun was up walking on Genium X3 microprocessor knees from Ottobock and was beginning to get his life back. “It took me a good year to get back to being me”, said Shaun. “I was thrown into the rehab side, visiting Jamie and Kat every couple of weeks. I took part in the Resi Rehab programme and the Dorset team knew what got me going and devised routines that motivated me and got me moving”.
8 years on from his accident, Shaun uses his own personal tragedy to educate professional footballers on the dangers of drink driving. “It was easy for me to talk to them about it”, said Shaun. “I don’t need to sell anything, my story is my story”. “I loved football and would always be playing; that got taken away from me through no fault of my own”.
Shaun visits football clubs to talk to footballers aged 15 years old and all the way up to the senior players about ‘not taking where you are for granted and be mindful of what you are doing in these environments’. “It’s not specifically about drink driving, it’s about safer driving”, said Shaun. “Staying off your phone is equally as important; you’ll often see people changing Spotify, looking at Google Maps, responding to WhatsApp’s etc, which is a huge distraction. 99 times out of 100, things might be ok. But that 1 in 100 chance can destroy lives forever”, continues Shaun.
“Being a dad is the best job I can ask for, but going into to talk to people to try and have an impact and save anyone else going through what I went through is important”, said Shaun.
Now 8 years on from his amputation, Shaun has become the first person in the UK to be fitted with the technologically advanced Genium X4 microprocessor knees. The Genium X4 empowers its wearer to move with effortless motion, and is the next evolution in human bionics. With movement this natural, the wearer can get their mind off their knees and back where it belongs.
“It’s an honour to be the first person in the country to wear these knees. The Genium X3’s have served me well over the last 8 years, but these are something more”, continues Shaun. “I can’t wait to put them through their paces”
“If I could offer any advice to others who may be going through a similar ordeal”, said Shaun, “I’d tell them It’s going to be life changing, both physically, emotionally and financially. But you will come out the other side over a period of time. Embrace the change and see where life goes; it’s a new chapter”!