A Co Antrim man has spoken of his determination to live life to the full as he takes his first steps since having a leg amputated following an accident in Thailand.
Six months after Ross Davidson almost died when the scooter he was riding went off the road and struck two trees, the 24-year-old has been walking again with the help of a prosthetic limb at Musgrave Park Hospital in Belfast.
Having suffered serious injuries to his right leg and severed the femoral artery, he was told by doctors in Thailand that his limb would have to be amputated above the knee after life-threatening sepsis set in.
On learning of their son's accident, Ross's parents Andrew and Desna flew out to be with him as he underwent the operation.
However, despite taking out two insurance policies before his trip, only one insurer said it may pay out some funds towards the medical bills.
In a bid to raise the money needed to help Ross recover, a JustGiving webpage was set up, which has so far collected more than £23,000.
In January, four weeks after the accident, and after 13 operations and more than 50 blood transfusions, Ross was flown back to Northern Ireland to continue his treatment at the Royal Victoria Hospital.
After just 10 days, he was discharged home to his family in a wheelchair.
Now walking on a newly-fitted prosthetic limb and with the help of parallel walking bars and sticks, he said it feels "liberating" to be back on two feet.
The former Carrickfergus Grammar School and John Moores University student is undertaking a rehabilitation programme involving daily exercise and physio in a bid to build up his strength and get more comfortable on his new limb.
Speaking to the Irish News, the 24-year-old said he does not underestimate the road ahead of him.
"It's more awkward than anything," he said.
"It's an un-natural feeling. It's quite uncomfortable. You are retraining and re-teaching yourself how to walk and you are re-teaching your brain.
"You are trying to undo 24 years of something you have learned and got used to and completely change that.
"The first thing was just being able to accept this is the way it is, that I have lost a leg and I have to adapt to that.
"Mentally, it can be hard but I'm quite a positive person. I have quite a lot of goals I want to do in my life and as long as you keep that in mind, it makes that easier."
Ross said "adjustments" to his new limb are still being made by the team at Musgrave.
"At the minute, I do actually have a prosthetic limb, it's not necessarily going to be the one I leave with from Musgrave," he said.
"The week before last, I had to go in for a limb fitting, that was actually having my stump casted and that was to make a sleeve.
"My stump goes into the sleeve and then they do a lot to make sure both legs are the same height so when I walk there is no instability. It's so I can walk as close to a person with two human legs can walk."
Ross said other patients around him are helping to motivate him.
"There's a really good team up there," he said.
"I am also up there with other amputees which is really motivating. I'm the youngest amputee up there now. If I'm looking over and seeing an 80-year-old walking with a prosthetic limb, what's to say I can't?"
He added: "A lot of it involves stretching because of the movement that I am doing with the leg. (There are) five sessions a week, two-and-half hours per day and it is non stop, You are working really intensively.
"There's also a lot of equipment so I would do stuff like that to keep myself energised and keep myself fit. You have to keep everything fit and healthy."
Looking back over the last six months, Ross said he remembers clearly the accident in the Pai area of northern Thailand which almost killed him.
"I remember being in an ambulance and being in extreme pain. I had a friend with me. I owe her my life to be honest," he said.
The language barrier proved a difficult obstacle, especially when doctors revealed his leg would have to be amputated.
"Whenever they came in, there was a lot of information," he said.
"They did know a little English. There was a lot of things that were really difficult to understand."
However, the stark reality facing him was that he would die without an amputation.
"I told the surgeon that I would like to have the amputation. When you have the choice between losing your leg or choosing your life, you choose life over any part of your body," he said.
"I cried. It was really, really difficult.
"It was a relief having a final decision rather than being torn."
Before the operation was due to take place, life-threatening sepsis set in and surgeons found themselves in a race against time to save the Co Antrim man's life.
"My body started shutting down, the infection started taking over," Ross said.
"At that point, I thought `I'm going to die here'. The last thing I did, I was on my own, I started saying all my goodbyes in my head, saying I loved them, in my head, not out loud.
"It's something I will never forget."
When he woke from the surgery, the simple fact he was alive "made losing the leg a hell of a lot easier".
"It was amazing," he said.
"My mum and dad, when it came to me being in trouble, they were on that plane. When they arrived, it was like having a super mum and super dad there.
"They held it together. They made sure I got the best care and treatment, the things I couldn't do on my own. You couldn't have had anything better than two parents who would do anything for me."
Within weeks, Ross was given the all-clear to leave the country and after spending only a short time at hospital in Belfast, was allowed to go home.
"The nurses, all the medical team in the RVH are beyond anything you will get anywhere else," he said.
"We talk about our health care all the time. The only thing bad is that we haven't got more great nurses. They were absolutely amazing."
Looking to the future, Ross said his plan is to live life to the fullest, including travelling back to Asia to carry out volunteer work.
"I will have to have recurring physio for years," he said.
"I'm aiming to be out of Musgrave in four weeks'. I'll still be assisted for quite a long time, I will have sticks.
"I am going to travel the world again. Personal growth comes with travel. I would like to give something back.
"I have been given so much to lead a normal life. There are people who have worse problems than me.
"I want to do some fundraising through extreme sports. What goes around comes around and I completely live by that."
He added: "I have been given the chance to see what it's like to lose life and be given it back again.
"There were strangers who actually raised money that I will never be able to thank. I owe so many people, so many things. I wish I could give it back to all of them. People seeing my progression is key to giving something back."
Ross's father Andrew described the moment his son took his first steps as "just fantastic".
"It was emotional. There were a few tears. That's what you are waiting on, you are waiting on your son walking," he said.
"We have went from one to 100 very, very quickly over the past few months".
Mr Davidson also said his family are thankful to everyone who helped them in the aftermath of Ross's accident.
"How do you thank all those people?" he said.
"It will take a while but we will get there. People are amazing. Every other day something else happens or someone gives you a wee message. That's lovely."
