Exclusive by Simon Hughes

AN OXTON man who woke in hospital to find he had lost a leg has told how a fellow Wirral amputee helped him out of the depths of despair.

Bill Rose, 65, went to Arrowe Park Hospital in June for an aneurysm operation - but complications with his blood circulation meant that the leg had to be removed.

He woke up to be told the news but struggled to come to terms with it during his recovery, so staff at the physiotherapy department contacted Swasie Turner, MBE, a former police sergeant who himself has had a leg amputated and who now raises thousands for charity.

When Swasie went to see Bill at Arrowe Park, he could empathise with how he felt and began to encourage him back on the road to recovery. Bill says he hasn't looked back since.

"If it wasn't for Swasie, I'd still be in bed," he said. "He's been my Mr Motivator. He comes to see me every day for two hours to spend time with me."

Bill acknowledges he was depressed, struggling to come to terms with how his life had been affected after his amputation and suffering from "extreme nightmares".

But Swasie encouraged him to adapt to his new way of life, and although Bill stresses that the nursing care at Arrowe Park has been outstanding, it helped that Swasie had gone through the same experience first hand.

He said: "When I woke up from the operation I knew I would never walk again. But with Swasie's help I stood up on a frame six weeks ago for the first time since I lost the leg. I have also transferred into a car, which was a real achievement."

Bill is an American who has lived in Oxton for the last 15 years, and he now hopes to visit his family in the USA at Christmas, something he didn't think was possible a few months ago.

He said: "I've come to realise that losing a limb is not the end of the world. You have to try to make the best of what you have.

"It has definitely made me more understanding, more compass-ionate and more appreciative of life. Little things aren't that important anymore."

Swasie said: "When I first came to see Bill, he wasn't too good. He wasn't coming to terms with losing his leg, and his morale was at rock bottom. But he's come on a huge amount since then. He's getting on buses now and going shopping to Sainsbury's."

Swasie said he would now like the opportunity to help other people in the same situation as Bill in the future.

"It was an honour and a privilege to come here and help. Hopefully I can come back and help other people like Bill if the circumstances are right."

Swasie is due at Buckingham Palace later this month where the Queen will award him the MBE for services to charity.