Courtenay's C-Leg 4 Story

Family man Courtenay Humphreys spent almost ten years using basic mechanical prostheses following the loss of his leg in a motorcycle accident. He finally received an advanced prosthetic leg, known as a Microprocessor Controlled Knee (MPK) through a NHS fund designed to support many hundreds of people living with limb loss every year. Courtenay explains more about enjoying his retirement, staying active and spending valuable time with his grandchildren whilst enjoying the stability and reassurance provided by his new MPK, the C-Leg 4.

Courtenay was enjoying the early years of a fulfilling retirement following 30 years’ service in Gloucestershire Police when he lost his leg in a serious motorcycle accident. During the last years of his career he had been fit and healthy, enjoying a range of active positions as a Police Officer, including working in a crucial role within the force control room. After his retirement at the age of 49 he worked as a part-time delivery driver as well as a qualified DSA CBT motorcycle instructor based in Bristol, being an experienced, lifelong motorcycle enthusiast.

Courtenay was just 52 and travelling home from a motorcycle meeting in Abergavenny, Wales on a Sunday afternoon when he had his accident. He had been attending a police-organised Bikesafe event and was heading home to catch a football match on TV, when a catastrophic mechanical failure led him to lose control of the bike on a tight bend. He collided with the metal safety barrier dividing the carriageways and was propelled over it. As a result, he suffered a badly broken left wrist and serious injuries to his right leg, which was crushed between the bike and the metal barrier. When he arrived at the hospital Courtenay found out that it wouldn’t be possible to save his right foot and his leg was amputated through the knee before later being revised to above the knee after complications. In total, Courtenay had five surgeries, three blood transfusions and spent five weeks in hospital.

Following his discharge from hospital Courtenay was initially unable to use prosthetics due to sensitive skin grafts that covered his residual limb. After a few months he was given the all-clear to begin trying prosthetic solutions and was fitted with a mechanical knee: “I was referred to the excellent Bristol Centre for Enablement where I was fitted with a prosthetic leg with a free knee.” He explains that whilst he was very happy with the NHS programme and benefitted from a number of improvements to the leg over the years, the mechanical knee had some limitations: “It was ok to walk on but you had to kick your leg forward with every stride then plant your heel and transfer the weight. There was very little suspension and when your knee reached in front of your foot it would think you were sitting down and collapse on you. It was a difficult technique to master and I had regular stumbles and falls, usually due to the foot catching on the ground on anything other than a completely flat, smooth surface.” explains Courtenay. It was during this time that he was offered an assessment for other prosthetic options and was recommended an earlier version of the C-Leg. However as the product was not yet available via the NHS, he opted to continue with the option he had been using. “I had been getting around ok and was still feeling young and fit so I decided to stick with it.” Courtenay was used to a busy lifestyle and so he continued to pursue sports and activity despite the challenges posed by a mechanical limb.