Jim Bonney's diary
Jim Bonney is an active Royal Marines Officer in the UK and the father of two very lively boys. Back in the year 2000 Jim had a serious mountaineering accident, falling around 1000ft and fracturing the neck of his right ankle.
“Clinically the ankle is destroyed as an articular joint and that leaves me with two options. One is to have the ankle fused, fixing it at 90 degrees at the end of my leg. A seemingly more drastic option is to have a transtibial (below-knee) amputation, a decision that is not an easy one to call.”Jim Bonney
What followed was 18 months of intense rehabilitation and further surgeries, but still Jim was unable to walk without pain or regain his former mobility.
In 2002, faced with only two real options, Jim made the incredibly difficult decision to lose his right foot in order to move forward with the help of modern prosthetics.
A year-and-half in the life of Jim Bonney
From that moment on Jim kept a diary, a powerful and honest record of his thoughts and experiences, the fears, the achievements, the highs and the lows of his personal road to recovery.
We are delighted and honored that Jim chose to share his diary with us and, over the years, we know it has provided new hope for many other people.
- Introduction
- Preparing for surgery (December 4, 2002)
- Early days and Christmas (December 9, 2002)
- Light at the end of the tunnel (January 8, 2003)
- Climbing to new heights (January 16, 2003)
- Life's highs and lows (February 2003)
- High expectations (March 2003)
- Moving on (April 2003)
- Summertime (June/July 2003)
- A promise kept (August/September 2003)
- Holiday spirit (November/December 2003)
- Now we are three(January/February 2004)
- A new life has begun! (March/April 2004)
Jim is the first British Marine to return to active duty following a lower limb amputation. Now an Ossur Ambassador, Jim continues to enthuse and inspire people wherever he goes.