I realised that we're going to crash.
My bone sticking out of my leg.
I had four infections. One of them was a flesh-eating one.
The surgeon told me I had to have my leg amputated.
I started having really, really vivid hallucinations.
I remember having the thought, like, "I am dying."
I decided to go to Thailand after I finished university.
The plan was to travel round Southeast Asia on mopeds.
I had probably the best 1,000 miles of my life going up to the mountains
and seeing wild elephants. I had such a good time.
I started off doing a TEFL course
because I wanted to teach English out there. I did scuba-diving,
hiking. A lot of drinking, as well, was involved.
Aimie and I were staying in the same hostel.
We hit it off quite quickly.
We had planned to go to a party out in the jungle.
Aimie didn't have a moped so she didn't have a helmet,
so I took mine off and gave it to her.
She asked me, was it OK that I was going to drive without a helmet?
And I was like, "Sure, we're only going up the road, it'll be fine."
It was quite dark and the roads are so windy.
It was kind of like exciting, but it did feel dangerous.
We were just driving along a road,
I just completely misjudged a left-hand turn.
I became hyper aware in that moment
and realised that we're going to crash.
CRASH
And I had to take a moment just to make sure I was OK.
I walked over to him and I saw him lay on his back.
If there's a road accident, call for help immediately
and don't move the person unless their life depends on it.
If their spine is broken,
even the slightest of movement can make all the difference.
Check the casualty is breathing,
place your ear above their mouth looking at their body.
If the person is unresponsive and not breathing,
attempt to open their airway.
Put your finger tips on the angle of the jaw
and gently lift to open the airway.
Don't tilt their neck.
This could damage their spine. Look, listen and feel for ten seconds.
If they are still not breathing, begin CPR.
His leg, it was, like, bent in quite a funny position
and the bone was sticking out.
If the casualty has an open fracture,
cover the wound to protect against infections.
If you don't have a sterile dressing at hand,
use any piece of clean fabric. Ripping part of a T-shirt is OK.
Apply pressure around the wound to reduce blood loss.
Don't touch the bone. Keep the casualty still.
Support the injured area from above and below the fracture
to stop it from moving
and place padding around the injured area for extra support.
There was quite a lot of blood. I told him to focus on his breathing,
just to take his attention off his leg,
cos that was something that he does not need to see right now.
I could see him drifting into unconsciousness.
The casualty may have gone into shock.
Loosen any tight clothing around their neck, chest and waist
and cover them with something to keep them warm.
Reassure them that help is on the way.
I'm not sure how long it was until the first person came past,
but they were Thai so they could call an ambulance for us.
As soon as they did,
I kind of just broke down, cos I felt like I could.
The first thing I remember was waking up in the ambulance,
like, screaming in pain.
I could see my bone sticking out of my leg, which was pretty grim.
That was like a three-and-a-half, four-hour drive.
I was bleeding out and in complete agony and they had to knock me out.
I woke up to the surgeon trying to tell me
that I was going to have to have my leg amputated.
That's a really hard thing to hear, especially in broken English.
I called his parents.
Just imagining being in his parents' situation
and getting a call from halfway across the world.
Having to say that to somebody was... It was horrible. Yeah.
For three, nearly four days, a surgeon was trying to convince me
to have my leg amputated.
He couldn't tell me why because he didn't speak English,
so that was really difficult. I was basically saying no.
Little did I know, I had four infections.
One of them was a flesh-eating one as well.
I think my words were, "Suck this up and let them amputate your leg,
"because you can live without your leg but we can't live without you."
I ended up going into shock because sepsis took over
and I started having really, really vivid hallucinations.
I started seeing aggressive dogs barking at me,
all my monitors going off and my heart rate going up.
We had a two-hour gap in between the two connecting flights
and we knew then that Ross' condition had severely deteriorated.
I remember actually having the thought like, "I'm dying."
Like, "I know that I'm dying."
Even though they weren't there, I said it in my head, like,
I told my mum and dad that I love them
and that I was sorry about what happened.
We were just glad to see him alive.
It was obviously devastating that I had had an amputation,
but I genuinely was grateful to be alive.
Quite quickly I realised he needed more specialist care.
My insurance company agreed to pay my medical expenses,
so I got moved to a private hospital.
The amputation didn't take away the infection properly,
so they took another 10cm off.
I had something like 13 or 14 surgeries.
To help the healing process, they put, like, a vacuum on it,
which takes out all the bad bacteria.
I was put on loads of medication.
I had weeks of just feeling so low and depressed
and looking into the future
and seeing what I was going to have to deal with.
As an amputee, the thing you want to do is get back to walking again.
Those first few steps were absolutely incredible.
And walking wasn't just about walking again,
it was getting that sense of independence.
Ross had had these, like, very much life-changing injuries.
I did feel the onset of depression and anxiety.
I feel really, really guilty.
I absolutely believe that if Aimie hadn't have been on the back
of my moped whenever I crashed, that I wouldn't have survived.
She was so amazing.
Psychologically it was hard to accept sometimes.
You know, I get sore because I've been walking for so long.
The physical part, for me, is the easy part.
The harder part is just the guilt of feeling like I put my family
and friends through so much pain and emotion.
The turning point for me
was being offered to play wheelchair basketball.
It completely turned being in a wheelchair into something amazing,
and to be around a load of people who have been through
sometimes harder things than you just kind of humbles you
and brings you down and makes you realise you're not alone.
I was fortunate because I was wearing a jacket that day.
It's really important to make sure that your clothes cover you.
Because I wasn't wearing a helmet, I actually had a bleed in my brain.
You're not just protecting your own health,
you're also protecting other people around you
that you could possibly hurt through hurting yourself.
Avoid getting on a moped abroad.
There will always be safer alternatives.
If you do take the risk, wear a helmet, protective clothing
and make sure your arms and legs are covered.