A Swansea dad and avid football player has been unable to play with his young daughter, or take partin the sport he loves, for almost two years - after a freak accident during a match resulted in his knee being "split in half".
Jordan Salisbury, from Clydach, was playing football at a local pitch in Resolven, in the Neath Valley, when he tripped over a boulder and "smashed" his leg into it, breaking his knee-cap and tearing his ligament.
WARNING: There is a very graphic image of Jordan's injury included further down in this article.
He was rushed to hospital for urgent surgery. But Jordan's nightmare didn't end there. He contracted sepsis and had to have two further surgeries to save his knee and repair his ligament, while fighting off the damaging infection.
Unfortunately, Jordan's surgeries were not successful and now, some 22 months after his accident in March, 2020, he needs a total knee replacement as he has "nothing left" in his knee.
Explaining his accident, Jordan, 24, said: "I was playing football on March 7, 2020 in Resolven and I tripped over a large stone, a boulder, on the football pitch. I tripped and smashed my leg into it and they [teammates] had to call an ambulance and I was taken to hospital.
"I needed to have an operation immediately, there was nothing keeping my leg together. My ACL [anterior cruciate ligament, one of the main ligaments in the knee joint] was scrapped and my knee cap was split in half."
"I had my first operation and then I got sepsis and then I had to have another operation. From March 7 to 9, I had three operations but now we're two years down the line and I've got nothing left. I need a total knee replacement."
Not only was Jordan's physical health been impacted by his accident, but his mental health had also suffered, he said.
Having lived a very active life before his injury, Jordan said he had found it really difficult not being able to run around and play with his young daughter, Arya Rose, who is just one-year-old, or go out and about with his partner Megan and the couple's friends.
He's also been unable to work since the accident and is unsure whether he'll ever be able to be a bricklayer again, due to the physical demands of the job.
He said: "My mental health has really been affected, I've had anxiety, and I've been off work due to the incident, I don't know if I'll be able to return."
There is some good news for Jordan, however, as he has been accepted for the life-changing knee-replacement operation he needs at a private hospital in Lithuania - if he can fork up the funds. Whilst the operation is offered in the UK, there is a two to three-year waiting list to have it done. And Jordan simply feels he can't wait that long to be back living an active life with his partner and their very young daughter, so he's fundraising to have the operation privately.
He said: "There's a two to three-year minimum wait in the UK, however, I've been accepted in a hospital in Lithuania for the operation, so I can go there and have it done as soon as I raise the money."
An online fundraiser to pay for Jordan's operation in Lithuania has now been set up by his best friend's partner, Caitlin Chenard.
Caitlin, 20, said she set up the fundraiser as she and her partner had seen first-hand how Jordan's traumatic injury had affected his life and wanted to help him and his family find the funds for the expensive surgery.
She said: "I knew how much it affected him, and £8,000 [for the operation] is a lot of money to have to find.
"Jordan's not been able to work and Megan [Jordan's partner] had to return to work right after having a baby [so the family could have an income]."
The description on the online fundraiser Caitlin set up adds: "Two years ago Jordan Salisbury had a massive life-changing injury which has resulted in him losing out on numerous events being active with his daughter and stopped him from being able to play the sport that he loved!
"Now at 24 he's just been accepted to finally have an operation for a new knee which isn't going to be cheap. In order to have this operation soon he needs to fly out to Lithuania to see a surgeon who can get him back up and running.
"He's not been able to walk properly, he's suffered anxiety and depression, he's not been able to work, run around with his daughter or even do basic things that we all take for granted! Family days out are restricted to certain activities - rather than keep going on about everything he has lost, can we all gain him [sic] something and support this GoFundMe and help him get a step closer to get this operation and back on the mend!
"Everyone that knows Jordan knows for a fact he would absolutely do the same back for anyone! Two years of ongoing pain, discomfort and mentally suffering needs to end, any contribution will help, and I truly mean that!
"I know the year has been tough for everybody, we’re not expecting miracles but just some financial support."
If you'd like to donate to Caitlin's fundraiser for Jordan's knee operation, you can do so here
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