UKC

Former Royal Marines Officer Chris Shirley was seriously injured in an accident on the Matterhorn last September. Although his cognitive recovery post-coma surpassed doctors' expectations, Chris remains in an external metal leg frame, which he will have on for a year in total. In this article, Chris describes his ongoing road to recovery.

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In reply to UKC Articles: Chris, I wish you all the best for your recovery, I am sure you will get back to an active life, you are young and have a positive attitude . Although my accident was nowhere near as bad as yours maybe I can offer you some hope regarding your leg.

I had a climbing accident in May 2018 and suffered a compound open fracture of the tibia and fibula and also the talus. I had a Taylor Spatial Frame fitted (and a large section of fibula  removed) and at the time the doctor said forget about ever running or climbing again.  My recovery went quicker than expected and I was only in the frame for 6 months, followed by a cast then crutches. I was climbing within 12 months( the difficult bit was trying to walk to the crag). Now even 2 years on I continue to see further improvement. I'm back to the same strength as before but not the same grade on trad, and I can complete at 10 mile run.

I pushed my recovery as hard as I could, sometimes too hard. One thing that helped early on was swimming. I had a dry suit material cover custom made to fit over my frame and seal on my thigh so I could swim several times a week, it was a physicological life saver. Let me know if you want any details.

In reply to UKC Articles: Hi Chris, I hope your recovery continues.

I too had a nasty lower limb fracture and an external fixator for a year afterwards after a climbing accident. It did at times look like I’d be lucky to keep the leg let alone walk. In the end, I made a partial recovery and never returned to climbing. I still very much enjoy the hills and they remain a big and satisfying part of my life but as a walker and cyclist, I’ve accepted the change in circumstances finally and not climbing was a small price to pay if it meant my family and loved ones no longer had to worry. There’s singleminded ambition to succeed and then there’s selfishness, try and decide where you want to be on that spectrum. There are other ways to enjoy mountains and still feel fulfilled.

Best wishes for the future.

In reply to UKC Articles:

Chris, that is a great primer on how to behave as a visitor to someone who is not in the best of shape. Being all maudlin and glum is no help at all. Neither is dwelling on the cause/past (although entertaining past events are fair game). 

Great article and very thought provoking. 

In reply to UKC Articles:

That's quite a read. What was worth taking from it is how to treat friends with life changing things that happen. We've got a mate with MS, the worst kind that's gradually shutting him down and it's very hard to know what to say and when to push. The article did give an excellent insight into the headspace we perhaps need to understand, thanks for posting.

In reply to UKC Articles:

Hi Chris, sounds like you've been through the mill there and I'm sure you've been given lots of "advice" by lots of people. Everyone is different, everyone responds differently and every injury is different so no one can get inside your head and your recovery but I thought I'd share a few things from my own.

I had a serious accident in the Himalaya in 1992. Some Swiss climbers made a film about it and the mountain that was shown at the KMF in 2016 and you can watch it here: https://www.dropbox.com/s/0isgb2y1tfuukgi/Tupendeo_EN_H264.mp4?dl=0. A lot of people seem to have found the story and message uplifting and positive so may be you will too. It's meant to be upbeat....

A rockfall removed the front of my leg and severed my tib and fib halfway between my knee and ankle. It took just under a week to get my off the mountain and to a hospital in Jammu by which time I had pretty bad gangrene, frostbite and blood poisoning. It was all a bit touch and go. I spent 4 years on crutches. That's 4 years not able to walk. I had nine operations, an ex-fix, infection in the bone and so on. I was at Headley Court for a while which I'm sure you know. The docs told me I'd be doing well if I was able to walk to the shops and back. My leg is 2 cm shorter, my ankle partially fused and have frostbite damage all over the foot. They were not overly optimistic. I can remember seeing the last orthopeadic consultant who treated me and the first thing he said was "hmm, well that's a pretty nasty fracture" with several intakes of breath. Not exactly encouraging. There's a short article about the accident and my recovery here https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2007/jul/07/familyandrelationships....

That was a long time ago but I can remember all of it. Four months is really nothing in a lifetime and its not long in terms of recovery. The body is an amazing thing and so is the mind. Sure you have to work within the limits of your injuries but you'd be surprised at how wide those limits can be. It took me years to gain strength in my leg again but after about 5 years I was walking well on it and gradually, ever so gradually I was able to do more and more. You have to be patient and that was not always so easy. I don't think it's easy for anyone when you're used to being active, fit and healthy. I used to be a keen distance runner.

Cycling really helped because it's non-load bearing and got the circulation going in the lower leg and helped regain some muscle. It really was a long game though. Ten years after my accident I won a half marathon in Somerset. That's ten years later, after a few set backs for sure, but really it was beyond my expectation and that of all the consultants. That was back in 2002.

There are things I still can't do but there is so much that I can, but never thought I would. I did climb again although the love affair was not quite what it was. I switched to other ways of enjoying and exploring the mountains. Last year I ran the TransAlpineRun which was a 270 km race across the Eastern Alps. Fantastic in its own way. So be patient, be positive, don't get down about short term set backs, know that time really does heal and that a positive mindset will make so much difference to the healing, the recovery and outlook.  I hope it works out for you. Jonathan

In reply to UKC Articles:

Good to hear you're on a positive path Royal. I'm sure with that bootneck mentality you'll be determined and focussed on your recovery and no doubt have tons of Long, Intermediate and short term goals lined up.

It sounds like you're surrounding yourself with the right people, but from one bootneck to another if you ever want to spin dits please dont hesitate to drop us an email via here. Not in the same situation as you but having been injured on herrick I know that chatting with others can help. 

Stay positive and good luck with it all

Danny

OARMAARM

In reply to UKC Articles:

Hi Chris, Great to read this. Hope the recovery goes well. So pleased that Anna-Liisa set up the facebook page as a lot of us 'old Yes'ers' (you know who we are) were very upset when we first heard the terrible news.  

Sempre Fi

In reply to Martin Haworth:

Sorry to hear about that Martin, I'm glad to hear you're well on the way to recovery and beyond. 

Guy. 

In reply to jonnybee666:thanks, that’s a very good film indeed. I think you’ve been incredibly lucky to have made such a recovery but plainly worked v hard to achieve it too.

In reply to UKC Articles:

Chris, firstly, thanks for an excellent article.  Secondly, I can echo many of the comments here.  In 2002 I broke my talus, fibula, femur, pelvis, left radius and right radius.  Edale MRT and then the staff from Sheffield's Northern General Hospital put me back together again and whilst I will never be right, I continued to improve until I had excelled everybody's expectations.  It turns out that the pleasure which you get from achieving something in climbing and mountaineering has got a lot to do with whether your achievement was significant for your capabilities, rather than whether it was a significant achievement per se.  I have continued to enjoy the outdoors in a slightly more restrained manner than before and have even recently taken up climbing again.  The pleasure and satisfaction that I now get is far greater than I ever recall.  Something about having also avoided ending up in Rose Cottage I suspect!  The only difference is that whereas once I was a climber of decidedly average ability, I am now rubbish!  It certainly makes no difference to the pleasure I get from it though.  Keep on trying to improve and keep up with the physio.  With any luck you will improve for years and years to come.

In reply to UKC Articles:

Well, what an incredible article and sobering yet inspiring series of comments. Puts one's own problems in context right enough.