When I took my daughter Poppy to the local park on the Sunday before heading off to work for the week, I had no idea it would be the last time we would do it for three years.

That Wednesday, I was working as an HGV driver delivering plywood to a customer when the accident happened. The driver of a forklift truck lost control and my leg got caught between the back of the forklift and the corner of the wall.

I knew instantly how bad it was. Lying on the ground my mind went to some really dark places but something triggered in my head and I knew I had to open my eyes and try to do something to stop the bleeding. I remembered my first aid training and, with help, we managed to put a tourniquet on. The first responder was there in seven minutes, followed quickly by ambulances and the air ambulance.

It took 13 minutes to get to Leeds General Infirmary and I went straight into a seven hour surgery where they amputated my leg just above the knee. I spent nine days in hospital, where I first came into contact with Day One. It was really nice to have a cup of tea and chat with the volunteers, as they’d been through it. They gave me hope. They helped me realise that life would get back to something more normal. The caseworkers were great too. Not just for me, but for my wife Emma. They explained about the financial support they could provide. It was great to know this was available. We were lucky as my employer carried on paying full pay while I was off work. But I know other people aren’t so fortunate.

It’s been a long road to recovery. There’s still a way to go, but the main thing is I’m just grateful to be here and that my kids still have their dad. Coming home and adjusting to a new normal was tough for me, and for them, but I’ve always tried to stay positive. Last year I had an assessment and they realised the prosthetic I had wasn’t really helping me enough. I was able to go to STEPS Prosthetics and try out two new prosthetics, which made such a difference.

After being on the new leg for a week, I reached one of my goals - taking Poppy, who’s now six, back to the park where we had so much fun on that Sunday three years previous. It meant so much to me.

As I recovered more, I knew I wanted to do something to challenge myself and raise money to give back to Day One. That’s why I took part in their 100K in June challenge. I knew it would be tough, but I loved the fact I could complete it my own way - a mixture of swimming, rowing, walking and using the wheelchair. I got the team at STEPS Prosthetics, and some fellow amputees, to take on the challenge with me, which was great. We’d all go for a walk dressed in our orange Day One t-shirts and could have a bit of a laugh and a joke. But it also gave us valuable time together to ask questions and talk about things that only other amputees understand. There were definitely some hard days, but when it got tough I just pushed on, knowing I was doing it for a good cause. And when I watched my fundraising total get over £1,000, it was a great feeling.

It was Day One’s founder, Professor Giannoudis, who did my surgery back in 2021. If it hadn’t been for him, and the rest of the team, I think it would have been a different outcome. You don’t realise how much Day One is needed until you go through something like this and I just wanted to do something to say thank you.