![Pinterest](https://pinterest.com/pin/create/button/?url=https://uknews.evprotec.com/i-chose-to-have-a-leg-amputated-to-end-crippling-pain/&media=https://uknews.evprotec.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/0_IMG_2752JPG.jpg&description=James Moore meets the veteran set to represent Team UK at the Invictus Games, who lost his left leg following a horror football injury Richard Potter was a 'super fit' Captain in the Royal Logistics Corps, until a crunching tackle during an army football match changed his life for ever. The officer, who studied fitness at university and served in Iraq, was playing a cup semi-final in 2015 for his regiment when disaster struck. 'I went in for the ball at the same time as another player and hurt my ankle. The pain was horrific and I was taken to A&E in an ambulance. "It was black, blue and swollen, but I was told it was just badly sprained, which was good news because that meant I could still deploy to the Middle East with my team. To go, I had to pass a fitness test. I took painkillers and ran as hard as I could to pass, but I knew something felt off.' Sure enough, while overseas, Richard's ankle pain got steadily worse. 'It got to the point that I couldn't squat, deadlift or run,' the 38-year-old dad-of-one recalls. Eventually a surgeon in the field identified he had an osteochondral defect – a hole in the cartilage of his ankle caused by his football collision. The diagnosis was confirmed by an MRI scan back in the UK and Richard, from Norwich, was referred for an operation to fix the issue. But what should have been routine surgery in 2016, took a shocking turn. 'I went to bed after the op dreaming about playing football again, but at 2am I was rushed into hospital,' he says. 'I was going into septic shock.' With wife Ellie at his bedside, Richard narrowly avoided death, but spent weeks on antibiotics. He was diagnosed with a bone infection and a condition called complex regional pain syndrome. He adds: 'I was on 32 tablets a day and just went from the sofa to the bed and back again. I wasn't able to train and turned to sugary things to feel good. In constant agony and unable to walk, I became clinically depressed. I didn't recognise myself.' Months passed and, a){kind=link}
James Moore meets the veteran set to represent Team UK at the Invictus Games, who lost his left leg following a horror football injury
Richard Potter was a “super fit” Captain in the Royal Logistics Corps, until a crunching tackle during an army football match changed his life for ever.
The officer, who studied fitness at university and served in Iraq, was playing a cup semi-final in 2015 for his regiment when disaster struck. “I went in for the ball at the same time as another player and hurt my ankle. The pain was horrific and I was taken to A&E in an ambulance.
“It was black, blue and swollen, but I was told it was just badly sprained, which was good news because that meant I could still deploy to the Middle East with my team. To go, I had to pass a fitness test. I took Âpainkillers and ran as hard as I could to pass, but I knew something felt off.”
Sure enough, while overseas, Richard’s ankle pain got steadily worse. “It got to the point that I couldn’t squat, deadlift or run,” the 38-year-old dad-of-one recalls. Eventually a surgeon in the field identified he had an osteochondral defect â a hole in the cartilage of his ankle caused by his football collision. The diagnosis was confirmed by an MRI scan back in the UK and Richard, from Norwich, was referred for an operation to fix the issue. But what should have been routine surgery in 2016, took a shocking turn.