Leicester Mercury
NOTTINGHAM, England — A man cheated death after being hit by a 15-tonne lorry, leaving him with injuries so horrific doctors twice pronounced him dead at the scene of the crash. A team of 34 doctors and nurses was called into save the life of Lewis Godfrey after the collision.
The 23-year-old, from Loughborough, spent 16 days in a coma. He was expected never to walk again and to have severe brain damage.
But astonishingly, five months after the crash, Lewis has made a full recovery.
“It has taken a while for every-thing to sink in,” said Lewis. “Sometimes I can’t believe I’m here. “I can’t remember anything from the accident, but I am really shocked when my dad tells me bits about what happened. “I think it’s probably just as well I can’t remember anything. “I was gutted when the doctors told me I would never walk again, but I was just glad to be here. “I was determined to get my life back on track and with the help of a lot of people, I’m now able to walk again.”
The Virgin Media cable technician was on a night out in Lough-borough on June 2 when he was allegedly punched and pushed into the road, where he was dragged under the wheels of the lorry.
The driver, unaware he had hit someone, continued his journey. Lewis suffered severe head injuries, massive blood loss and a broken pelvis. All of the muscle was ripped off his upper right leg. A doctor pronounced him dead at the scene after his heart stopped beating.
In an ambulance, on the way to Queen’s Medical Centre, in Nottingham, Lewis’s heartbeat stopped again, and paramedics battled to restart it.
After coming out of a coma, Lewis was given the devastating news he might never walk again. “It was overwhelming,” he said. “But with some help I managed to learn to walk again in six months.” “It was a strain at first because I was bedridden. I couldn’t even feed myself, but it’s a lot better now. “I can’t remember anything from the accident.” Lewis has made such a good recovery he is hoping to be back at work by January.
He said: “I’m lucky, and my heart goes out to everyone single person who helped look after me.” Dr Nicholas Foster, who was working as a volunteer GP with paramedics that night, was the first doctor on the scene. “When I got there, I saw the most horrific injuries - he had been ripped open,” said Dr Foster. “The level of trauma was so massive, he shouldn’t have made it. “I knew I had to stop the bleeding, so we put him back together and wrapped him up to keep him in one piece.”
In hospital, Lewis was operated on by surgeon Daren Forward, who said he had suffered a “substantial head injury” and had severe dam-age to his bowel and bladder. A titanium plate was inserted into Lewis’s skull to keep the shape of the head normal. Lewis’s dad, Graham Godfrey, 48, said: “When we first arrived at the hospital, we were only allowed to see Lewis very briefly.
“They draped a sheet over him to cover his injuries, and I held his hand for a bit, and whispered in his ear to keep fighting.” Three people have been charged in connection with the incident. Two men, both aged 24 at the time of arrest, were charged with caus-ing grievous bodily harm. A third man, who was aged 23 at the time of arrest, was charged with affray. They will appear in court later this year.
“I’m lucky, and my heart goes out to everyone single person who helped look after me” Lewis Godfrey
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