Dan’s journey to amputation.

This is a big one.

Dan is my little brother. He’s 36 now. He doesn’t really take much looking after these days, unless he has to speak to a human being on the phone in any capacity. Still totally incapable.

Anyway, why a go fund me with an obscenely high target? Well, in short, Dan is having his leg amputated, and will need a prosthetic.

Let me explain…..

Some of you may know that Dan was born with one leg that grew more quickly than the other. Something to do with it being stuck in a certain position in the womb, so when he popped his head out into the world (sorry Mam) his leg had issues and ended up not getting the right amount of blood to it, so growth never went in sync with the left leg. His foot was the wrong way around and was in bad shape. With some massaging from Mam and Dad, over time it went the right way, but the growth rate couldn’t be changed.

The older Dan got, the bigger the gap between the two legs. He compensated by walking on his tiptoe on his right foot, which would affect his foot, back and hips. He got special orthopaedic shoes from hospital to help- NHS orthopaedic trainers in the 90s were NOT the prettiest- and had regular visits to the hospital for checkups.

At around 9 years old, Dan had an operation. You can see in the cover picture how big it was. It was a cage with pins through all the bones in his leg, ankle and foot, which would need turned daily. The idea being that as the pins were turned, the bone would split and heal, incrementally getting longer and longer to the point his legs matched length. This was a long process and put him through the wringer. I still remember Mam cleaning the wounds to help the infections he would get, but he was typically hardy, got on with it and played loads of PlayStation!

Once it was off after around a year, his legs were matched and despite the right leg being much thinner due to being unused, it largely helped mobility. There were still complications in his foot and toes, but it was better than pre-op, especially for his back and hip alignment.

Dan then grew through the teenage years and after travelling with me and friends at 19, he got home and opted for the second and hopefully last operation to correct the new gap in length between the two. As he grew as a man, the growth rates were still not aligned, so the gap opened again, which we knew would happen.

One final op to put it all behind him and crack on with life? Not quite.

Dan’s surgery was harder this time. Bones denser as he was an adult. Healing afterwards really hard. Pain worse. I could write an essay on the years that followed and difficulties Dan faced, but this is already a long one.

Ultimately, it never worked. He’s had a few surgeries since on his ankle and Achilles, but both without success at helping his mobility or his pain levels.

He's a plumber, which is a physical job but he loves it and he’s really, really good at it. He has a beautiful family with two absolutely incredible kids to run around after; Aiden and Dara. He wants to be able to enjoy these things he’s worked so hard to get without a cloud of pain and discomfort affecting everything.

As a result, he’s now decided to press ahead with elective surgery to amputate from the knee down. The pain levels he experiences day to day have gotten to the point where he no longer wants to take it anymore. It’s a decision he hasn’t taken lightly. He’s tried absolutely everything to manage it, but he’s now at the point where he’s got to take drastic action.

He doesn’t want to have to miss a day out with the kids and Kate because it might involve too much walking. He doesn’t want to have to gee himself up every morning just to get out of bed. He’s ready to be pain free, even if the cost is his leg.

The magnitude of the decision isn’t lost on me, Kate, his family and his friends, but we are so, so proud of him.

The level of pain he’s had to endure, on and off since being a baby, without barely mentioning it makes me emotional just thinking about. He personifies quiet, steely determination. He never asks for favours. Rarely complains. Works his arse off. Is an incredible dad to the boys, a loyal husband and an amazing uncle to Oscar. One of the nicest lads you’ll ever meet that nobody has a bad word to say about.

He deserves the world and this is where I’m looking for your help.

Dan can get a prosthetic on the NHS free of charge. He’s spoken with other amputees and they’ve told him of the restrictions of movement when it comes to going up and downhill due to how rigid the prosthetics can be. Dan told me this very matter of fact and was just gona get on with it.

I then thought about it on my own and was so frustrated for him. After such a long time dealing with all this he’s still gona have restrictions even after this huge life changing operation. This can’t just be it at 36 with most of his life still ahead of him.

I looked into private. There is a company in Germany that do award winning prosthetics called Blatchford Mobility that aid you to live life normally. No limping. No pain. No hobbling up and down hills. The NHS will fit them too, providing you pay the cost for the leg yourself.

Dan deserves it. More than anyone I know. He would never ask anyone for it, so I’m gona fundraise with the eventual help of friends and family to get him what he deserves.

The cost of it is going to be close to £18,000. That’s a hell of a lot of money, I know. I am absolutely not expecting that based purely on me doing a run. It’s gona take all kinds of bake sales, football cards, other events with friends doing hikes to pass around their office and loads more. We just want to raise as much as possible.

Anything anyone can give would be hugely appreciated and be truly life changing for a lad that wouldn’t dream of asking for a fiver if it was left to him.

As a start point, I’m gona run the Pennine Barrier Ultra the first weekend in May. I haven’t ran further than 10 miles since last March! I’m heavy and nowhere near ready so this will be gross. It’s the Yorkshire Three Peaks plus a marathon basically. 51 miles total. 8952 feet of climbing.

Dan’s wife, Kate, is also running the London Marathon on 26th April. She’s been training hard and hoping to help the fundraiser too.

The challenge isn’t worth the total we are aiming for. Not by a long stretch but it’s a start. Way more to come.

Thanks for reading such a long piece. Wasn’t easy being snappy when I’m trying to write up 36 years of Dan’s story…..