22/09/2026
🚨 An 80-year-old grandfather had both of his lower legs amputated after a common circulation condition went undiagnosed for four years.
Nic, an 80-year-old semi-retired financial advisor from Tugby in Leicestershire, first went to his GP in 2020 with leg and foot pain, swollen feet, and hair loss on his lower legs.
Doctors initially believed the pain was linked to his existing back problems and referred him to an orthopaedic specialist.
Over the next four years, Nic attended 29 separate appointments with doctors, consultants, and specialists while undergoing numerous scans and tests.
Each time, he was sent away and told to walk more, take cholesterol tablets, receive spinal injections, or put insoles in his shoes.
The pain grew so intense that Nic eventually collapsed and saw his big toes burst open. 😧
It was only after a podiatrist performed a simple Doppler circulation test in late 2024 that doctors identified severe blockages in his arteries caused by peripheral arterial disease.
By the time the condition was spotted, it was so advanced that an angioplasty and two risky 13-hour arterial bypass surgeries failed to save his limbs.
Nic had his right lower leg amputated in April 2025, followed by his left lower leg in July 2025.
His wife, Fiona, says a simple £1,000 procedure at his initial GP appointment could have saved his legs and saved the NHS over £1 million in treatment costs. ‼️
Despite the ordeal, Nic underwent months of gruelling rehabilitation with prosthetic legs and was able to walk his 30-year-old daughter, Emma, down the aisle on her wedding day in June 2026.
Fiona is now campaigning to raise public awareness of the warning signs of peripheral arterial disease so other families do not go through the same experience. ⚠️
