Man spends seven weeks in bed and has 15 operations to reconstruct his leg after serious motocross accident

The mother of a 26-year-old who nearly lost his leg in a serious motocross accident has thanked the NHS and undertaken a series of charity events for a limb reconstruction charity.
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Oliver Nicholls had a nasty accident on a motocross track in Maidstone in August 2017.

Floss Nicholls, his mum, said, “He was blue lighted to Pembury hospital – he’d broken his leg – all we knew at the time from a phone call was that it was nasty.

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“We later found out that it was a compound fracture where the bones had not only penetrated the skin but had come right through his protective boot too.”

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The tibia and fibula were shattered and Oliver needed to be operated on that night to stabilise the bones before transferring him to London for further surgery.

Floss added, “The whole family were thrown into turmoil, plans were dropped, work commitments changed, and holidays were cancelled.

“Ols’ health came 
first. What was a nightmare became the norm coping 
with both physical and emotional situations with distance thrown in for good measure.

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“It was almost like having a toddler again recording small steps and milestones as Ols progressed through his recovery which included taking his non-weight-bearing-one-legged first steps with a walking frame after being bed bound for more than six weeks.”

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Oliver has undergone 15 operations accumulating many hours of surgery to reconstruct his leg.

Floss said, “It’s absolutely remarkable what the body can do to repair itself.

“We are immensely proud of his positive attitude and the way he has strived to walk unaided and to return to almost all of daily life routines whilst he has coped with this life changing event.”

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After spending so much time at Kings College Hospital, the family became aware of the charity Rebuild, which helps limb reconstruction patients.

Floss said, “Not everyone in Ols’ situation has the love and support from such a large family or great group of friends.”

Rebuild provides support, physiotherapy, psychological sessions and specialist nursing care to patients who have suffered complex breaks in accidents, as well as those with congenital deformity, and military patients who have been injured in combat or on field training.

All these programmes help speed up the rate of recovery and rehabilitation of patients.

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Floss said, “A huge and heartfelt thank you goes to the team of surgeons at 
Kings College Hospital; especially to Sarah Phillips and her colleagues, for their skill and determination in saving his leg, to the microbiologists for detecting all the bugs and infections which tried so desperately to force the surgeons to amputate.

“I would also like to thank the nurses for being the backbone of his care in hospital and the recent eight weeks of daily district nurse home care with administering his IV antibiotics.”

The family has received huge support from their family and friends and Floss said, “These fantastic people have been nothing short of amazing in helping Ols in his journey of recovery and to fight infection after infection and help keep his spirits positive.”

Following the accident and the long recovery process, Floss has organised charity events.

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She started a fundraiser at Hailsham Freedom Leisure with homemade cakes. The morning raised £795.36 and a percentage of this was donated to Freedom Leisure’s chosen charity The British Heart Foundation.

The second event took place the same day and was a black tie charity ball at Wellshurst Golf Club with a raffle and live entertainment.

Floss added, “A great evening was had by all and more than £2,500 was raised.”

Sunday saw a pub quiz kindly hosted by Malcolm Cragg at the Grenadier Hailsham, which raised a further £232.

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The three events over one weekend have raised more than £4,000 in total and Floss is delighted with the support she has received for a cause that is so close to her and her family’s hearts.

She said, “Without all the support shown we would not have managed to raise such an amazing amount.

“From these kind donations, amazing cake sales, and incredible raffle prizes, others needing limb reconstruction will be able to benefit from a weekend’s amazing achievements.

“If you missed the events but would like to donate to this great cause please go to www.justgiving.com/fundraising/Floss-Nicholls4 where you will be able to see more photos and details from the event.

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To find out more about Rebuild and what is involved with limb reconstruction visit www.rebuildcharity.org

Floss added, “A huge thank you goes to all those who have supported us by raising an incredible amount of funds for Rebuild and the British Heart Foundation.”