Skier's brush with death (From Chard & Ilminster News)

Skier's brush with death

6:47am Wednesday 6th February 2008 in Chard By Joanna Glover

A CHARD man has said he will never go skiing again after a freak accident left him fighting for his life.

Simon Dowell is recovering at home this week after fatty marrow from a broken bone got into his circulation and lodged itself in his lungs during a skiing holiday in Finland.Simon was just four hours into his holiday in Ruka when he fell over and broke his leg.He thought he would be in hospital for a couple of hours while they plastered the break but ended up missing his entire holiday and coming close to death.He said: "I was taken to Kuusamo hospital for x-rays then taken on a four-hour trip to Oulu University Hospital 120 miles away!"I remember being told in the hospital they'd have to operate to put the leg right and then waking up five days later with my mum and everyone around me!"Simon was told he had had a fat embolism that meant bone marrow got into his lungs during the operation causing inflammation and making it hard for him to breathe.He was on a life support system for five days with doctors not knowing if he was going to pull through.Simon added: "I'm lucky the marrow got into my lungs - if it went to my brain I'd be done for!

"They said I'd either not make it at all or I'd make a fast recovery - so it's lucky for me it was the latter!

"My friends were expecting me back at the resort and when I didn't come back they got a bit worried!"To mend the bone doctors inserted a metal rod into Simon's leg, which will stay there permanently."I've never seen anyone have a broken leg treated like that before - there's no cast or anything," Simon added."The hospital really was amazing."I've been told if I break the metal rod there's no fixing it, so I don't think I'll ever be going skiing again - this has definitely put me off!"