A FUND-RAISING drive to buy a farmer a new prosthetic arm has topped nearly £25,000.
Andy Webster was bailing hay on his farm in Eathorpe when he slipped and was pulled into a machine.
Luckily the 44-year-old was not alone and his colleague managed to stop the hay bailing machine otherwise Andy could have been killed.
Despite several surgeries – with one lasting 15 hours – Andy is back at work just three weeks later.
Speaking about the accident, he said: “Within three seconds you say you live or die and I pulled as hard as I could. It was horrible. I was stood with 6lbs of mince meat there instead of my arm. No hand, that was gone, and I shouted my head off.”
Andy has been overwhelmed by the support he has received with people from across the world donating towards a prosthetic arm.
Andy’s local pub, The Red Lion at Hunningham, also held a charity auction which raised some £10,000 towards the cause.
Andy said: “It’s been strange I thought I was just a little man in the world.”
And while he refuses to let his new circumstances stop him, money is still needed to fund his treatment, which is expected to cost around £60,000 and is only available in America.
It was recommended by his surgeon at University Hospital Coventry and Warwickshire – who previously worked with soldiers injured in war zones.
Friend Alison Miles started the fund-raising drive.
Alison told the Observer: “Andy is overwhelmed with the amount of generosity, love and support from the community and truly grateful to everyone involved. He’s one of life’s good guys and we have all done him proud.
“The enormity of his every day struggle to adapt to the physical challenges is forever his daily battle and undeniably difficult. He will not accept defeat no matter what life throws at him. Even under these unimaginable circumstances to have found inner strength to just get on with it as he always does is truly inspirational.
“Let’s do all we can to help him deal with this debilitating and life changing disability.”
Visit www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/poweroffriends to donate and www.facebook.com/eathorpeandy for regular updates on Andy’s progress.
