In 2005 I had my right leg amputated above the knee. This followed 278 days in hospital, during which I had 2 x right knee replacement operations.

Following each operation the leg became infected I think, but was not told that they infection was MRSA, which would not respond to any antibiotics. The operations were carried out in one of Sydney’s leading private hospitals.

I was sent to a public hospital for a month of rehabilitation. I was given a temporary prosthesis, and the physiotherapist taught me to walk again.

Before I was discharged from rehabilitation I was sent to a prosthetic manufacturer to have my first definitive prosthesis made. I elected to have a Mauch (hydraulic) knee and a silicone liner (sleeve) as the suspension to hold my prosthetic leg on. For this, I was charged $8,000. I had a lot of trouble with the fit of the prosthesis, and then decided to try another manufacturer; after all I was already out of pocket $8,000 just to get me walking again.