Market Harborough man's '˜miracle' recovery

Roger Freeman (39) only ditched his walking aids about a month ago. And the Adidas Silverstone Half Marathon he is competing in is on March 13.

“To be honest, I don’t know if I can do it” he said. “But I want to push myself out of my comfort zone to raise money for the East Midlands Air Ambulance.

“My doctor says I basically should have died, and I definitely wouldn’t be here without those guys.”

Mr Freeman, who works as operations manager for building materials supplier Travis Perkins in the town, had his horror crash on February 17 last year.

He was riding his bike through Great Oxendon, on his way to a training day, when he collided with a car.

“I can’t remember anything about the accident” he admitted. “It’s probably a good thing because I wasn’t pretty. I know someone had to make my leg look like a leg again.”

His injuries included 14 broken ribs, three broken vertebrae in his spine, a smashed leg and kneecap. He has had nine months of operations and reconstructive surgery.

“With all those broken ribs, doctors say it’s a miracle that nothing was punctured” said Mr Freeman.

Last weekend Mr Freeman was able to meet and thank the East Midlands Air Ambulance team at East Midlands Airport.

He says he would also like to thank at last two local doctors who treated him at the scene of the accident.

“I can’t imagine what they needed to do to keep me alive, to keep me existing. My family has been great too. It’s been so much worse for my wife Helen. She’s lived it from the minute she got the knock on the door from the police, and that ‘are you the wife of Roger Freeman?’. And my son Alfi (six) has been amazing too. So kind, so helpful. So the medical team didn’t just save me, they saved Alfi’s dad and Helen’s husband. But it’s been a slow and very frustrating recovery and a long journey back to work. Last year to us, as a family, didn’t really exist.”

Helen Freeman will be doing the half marathon with her husband, “keeping me going, or telling me I really need to stop now!”

You can give to Air Ambulance funds via Mr Freeman’s justgiving page: www.justgiving.com/forevergratefulx/

He said: “They saved my life and with a little help they can save many more.”