Man pays £64,000 to have his leg cut off
A 20-year-old man plagued with leg pain due to a rare condition paid £64,000 to have it amputated - after being inspired by a dog on Channel 4's The Supervet.
James Bertrand has lived with constant pain due to blood clots caused by a condition he was diagnosed with when he and his twin brother were still in the womb.
However, he was given a ray of hope by an episode of The Supervet in which a dog had a prosthetic limb fused directly into the bone of its amputated leg.
Tormented by pain - and having exhausted all the surgery options in the UK - he tracked down a doctors in Australia who would perform the same complex procedure at a cost of £64,000.
@FulhamFC you have been my team since I was 6 years old. You got promoted in the day I flew to Australia to get my 2nd leg amputated. You did that for me. Thank you. #Fate#FulhamFC#ThankYou#COYW#ForJames#PLpic.twitter.com/9usBpXY597
- James Bertrand (@jamesbertrand01) June 2, 2018
Following the surgery in May of this year James, who also had his other leg amputated as a child, is now on the road to being pain free and properly mobile for the first time in his life.
He told the Bucks Free Press: "I first heard about the surgery two years ago. We were just sat watching The Supervet on TV and a dog was having the same operation. It was actually my mum who asked the question and that's when it became a possibility. We asked my doctors in Dorset about it and they said it's already being done on humans.
"It's funny how it happened really. If I hadn't have watched the show then I would never have thought to ask about it."
Over the summer James experienced a new lease of life - he took his first steps without crutches, stood up in the shower for the first time and has gained five inches in height due to the new prosthetic limb.
Born with a rare disease, @jamesbertrand01's now lost both legs- help him raise money to get new ones > https://t.co/MQrglT5IK2@JustGiving
Info- @yoocanconnecthttps://t.co/w5kxjsCETT! #KindnessMatters#rak#RandomActsOfKindness#giveback#bethechange
Please retweet. pic.twitter.com/wGf3tEoGbh- UnBEElievable Health (@Unbeelievable) July 10, 2018