Jozef Metelka - Already Back On The Slippery Slopes!
Eight months after his elective left below knee amputation, following a motorcycle accident, Jozef Metelka was carving turns on the piste at Hemel Hempstead’s Snow Centre, thanks to a specialised prosthesis from PACE Rehabilitation in Chesham.
Slovakian Jozef, a professional tennis coach, avid cyclist, tri-athlete and student at Brookes University in Oxford is an exceptional amputee, as he proved by his impressively successful visit to the Hertfordshire winter sports complex.
After some adjustments by PACE prosthetist Jamie Gillespie (pictured) in the Snow and Rock store at the Snow Centre, Jozef was ready to try out his sophisticated prosthesis for the first time.
As Jamie explained “We have provided Jozef with a prosthetic foot that clips straight into a ski binding”. He continued “Jozef aim is to get into the Slovakian Paralympic ski team, so it is vital we provide him with the necessary equipment to give him the best chance to achieve that”.
Nicky Edwards, PACE’s physiotherapist, was accompanied by the Centre’s Snowsports Director, Pete Gillespie and advised Jozef to take it steady initially, but as Nicky explained “It was fantastic to see the control Jozef immediately had. Straight away he was parallel skiing, as he traversed down the slope. Incredible!”
After several other successful runs, Jozef’s smile was as wide as the ski slope “It’s so good to be back skiing! Jamie and the team have done a fantastic job with this prosthesis”.
Jozef’s solicitor, Hilton Obery (New Law LLP in Cardiff) was delighted by his progress, commenting “We are impressed by the speed at which this has been achieved, given that the amputation only took place in April 2009. Our aim is to restore Jozef’s life to as close to his pre-accident situation as possible. Thanks to this and other prostheses being provided by PACE, he is well on the way, which is terrific.”
Jozef headed back home to spend Christmas with his family and to put his skiing prosthesis through its paces in the mountains of Slovakia.
UPDATE: Jozef has sent these photo from Slovakia, demonstrating that he is getting on quite well!!!
