True Story - Merino Skincare changes a person’s Life

Jeremy’s Story

“When I was 17, I decided to study Agricultural contracting. I dreamed of going to Art college in Auckland and needed to earn some money to get me there. I overworked myself, and it led to me becoming extremely fatigued.

One day I made the wrong decision at work, which led to falling into a rotary hoe. I was buried to my neck and had to wait three hours for the landowner to find me. Being young, I was lucky enough that the femoral artery closed, so I didn’t bleed out. I was also madly in love at the time, so there was no way I was letting myself die. Minus my above-knee right leg, 11 weeks later, I was released from the hospital.

Rehab

My physio Sarah knew how much I wanted to keep moving, so she took the challenge on and soon, I was able to bend my left leg. I began working as a maintenance fitter at a sewing factory on crutches three weeks later; you could say I had an enormous will to keep living. Twenty-one years later, I took to engineering work”.

“There is nothing good about losing a body part, especially at such a young age. Wearing my first leg felt like torture. You place a woollen sock over your stump, step into your prosthetic leg and belt it to your waist and shoulder harness.

 I Could only walk 20 paces, and the sock would have rubbed through my skin, causing me to bleed. My occupational therapist told me to try harder, but that never worked, so I ended up making a pair of stainless steel crutches and went everywhere on them. I even did two Auckland Round the Bays running events with them, and I started competing in weightlifting.

Inspiration

One day I saw another above knee amputee temporarily put his leg on by pushing it in and then walking over to his chair to place it on correctly; it got my brain thinking. I met a guy called Paul; he also changed my life. He was the apprentice at Auckland Limb Centre (Peke Waihanga), where I got the torture contraption made. He made me a leg that was held on by suction.

 I was given this powder that was supposed to stop my stump from sweating the leg off, but it was a poisonous powder and caused many boils and rashes on my leg. I wore this leg for about five years and worked as a mechanic in the sewing industry, and continued to weight-lift and compete. Still, I kept thinking of that ‘guy’ I’d seen putting on his leg many years back”.

Finally finding the best Moisturiser

“I got together with Paul, and we made a socket with no bung in it so I could push into it with some lubricant. To find a suitable lubricant, I tried and tested almost everything you can think of on the market. It was an expensive and heart breaking period. Everything either didn’t work or eventually reacted with my skin. I felt defeated, but then I came across the Merino Nourishing Lanolin Creme at my local chemist. I could not believe it. That was the day my never-ending two-year search came to an end”.

“I could put some Merino on, step into the leg and move all day freely - total freedom. Since that day, I have lived 33 extremely full and productive years, which I never thought was possible”.

“Suppose I could say a few things to people that end up in a situation like mine. Don’t let anybody put you in a box, do the opposite and use their doubts and negativity to empower you. The world is made for two-legged people, so you have to adapt, but you can adapt; you might surprise yourself. It’s far more rewarding than sitting back waiting for someone to help”.

You’re an Inspiration Jeremy

It was a wicked story and one that everyone at Merino skincare really appreciated. We feel so grateful for moments like these when we hear how Merino skincare has made a difference to our customers. It’s the team around us that helps make these moments happen. I reached out to Jeremy and asked if I could interview him; I wanted to share his story with you and hopefully help someone out there who is in a similar situation. He was more than willing and jumped on board. Thank you, Jeremy, for sharing  this story. We know many other people will enjoy the read.

Sophie Hallifax, Merino Skincare

We have included some pictures of some of the tasks Jeremy has achieved since the day he found Merino 33 years ago.