Ditchling blacksmith tells story of getting back to work after leg amputation

Nigel Stenning lives a simple life, waking early seven days a week to pursue his passion of creating artwork from metal.

The 63-year-old has been interested in blacksmithing since his school days and later began to do it professionally. He has won blacksmithing competitions for his skill.

Earlier this year he began feeling pain in his left foot and it began swelling up.

Nigel, from Ditchling, said: "I was just trying to carry on working, I couldn't afford to take any time off. I did ignore what was happening. I have always done life too much, I guess, like smoking, drinking and eating, so I assumed it was that."

Nigel eventually went to the hospital after a friend convinced him. He was then told he had diabetes, which had caused an infection in his foot and it needed to be operated on.

Doctors removed most of his left foot in attempt to remove the infection.

Nigel was then told he had two choices - he could keep the remainder of his foot, which would look better but he would struggle to walk and stand on it, or he could have the rest of his lower leg amputated and eventually get a prosthetic leg to replace it.

Nigel decided the best option would be to have the rest of his leg removed because he wanted to be able to return to work.

"In the hospital there was a double amputee opposite me and I saw him walking, you couldn't tell at all. That's what I needed," he said.

"They told me to take a few days to make up my mind but I said no, that's what I want. Whatever gets me back in the workshop. I want to be able to work the fires again. I couldn't bear to let smithing go."

Following his amputation Nigel went through a period where he shut himself off from family and friends because he could not contemplate what had happened.

But then he completely changed his outlook, he accepted that there was nothing to be done for his leg and all he could do was focus on keeping his other leg.

"I don't see the point in looking back and complaining," he said. "I knew I had to be positive. What I can do is make the most of the life I've got left."

Now he closely monitoring his diabetes and has changed his diet.

Nigel went out in his wheelchair every day to build up stamina for when he could eventually return to work.

He would get exhausted after a few minutes, but he was consistent and practised and can now do over an hour every day without stopping.

He also began strength training his other leg and doing daily rehabilitation exercises to make the most of physiotherapy sessions at hospital.

At the moment he is still in a wheelchair as he needs to wait for his wound to fully heal, but he hopes that in the next week or two he will be getting his prosthetic leg.

Nigel said: "I live for today and a little bit of tomorrow. My life has changed hugely and I won't be the same but I do believe I'll be able to work at the same skill level, my work won't change, that's why I decided to do this in the first place.

"The thing that spurs me on is that I know I'm going to get back on my fires again, that's when I'm my happiest."

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