Young Redland dad’s harrowing year before decision to amputate leg

With a leg broken in 28 places and an agonising 90-minute effort to get into an ambulance, this young Brisbane father may have felt he’d endured the worst after a rooftop fall. Then he woke in the middle of surgery.

Brandon fell from his roof and shattered his right leg.

A young Brisbane dad is preparing for his leg to be amputated at the end of a harrowing year filled with multiple surgeries, unbearable pain, infections and becoming conscious during a surgery, after falling from his roof.

WARNING: GRAPHIC CONTENT

Brandon Ford, 32, was sent into a whirlwind of pain after he fell from his roof in September 2023.

Mr Ford, a Redlands business owner and father of two little girls, was fixing a leak in his roof when his wife requested that he come down.

“Being an electrician I’ve been on lots of roofs and have been taught the correct way to fall off of a roof, but I slipped,” Mr Ford said.

“It was such a freak accident because I landed on uneven ground and shattered my right leg completely.

“I had 28 fractures to the bones in my lower leg and ankle, it took about 90 minutes to get me in the ambulance because a critical care paramedic had to align all of the tendons and be very careful, before placing my leg into a boot,” he said.

Brandon Ford with his wife and high school sweetheart Eleni Ford.

Mr Ford said the pain was all consuming but adrenaline and pain medications partially sedated him before he arrived in hospital.

Mr Ford’s wife, Eleni, said he would continuously let out agonising screams before settling.

Upon arrival at the Princess Alexandra Hospital, Mr Ford’s shattered leg was scanned and an emergency operation was later performed when he developed potentially fatal compartment syndrome.

“My leg became swollen with toxic fluids that can kill you if they enter your bloodstream,” Mr Ford said.

“Surgeons cut my leg twice with a large scalpel, from the ankle to the knee. and left the wounds open to release the toxins over a week,” he said.

The following week Mr Ford underwent a second surgery, that involved a remarkable 6 plates and 38 screws, to rebuild his leg.

“The surgeons told me this was the worst leg shattering they’d seen that they weren’t amputating,” Mr Ford said.

“I had lost all my cartilage in the joints so I was guaranteed to have arthritis within the year.

Six plates and 38 screws were placed into Mr Ford’s leg.

“I was discharged nearly one month after first arriving at the hospital to recover at home,” he said.

One month after his operation Mr Ford developed a significant infection in his leg where the wounds were healing, and was admitted to hospital.

“I had been smashing the physio and doing everything I could to recover, everything I was told to do I did three times more, in hopes of making our annual Christmas camping trip,” Mr Ford said.

After overcoming a shortage of surgeons obstacle and several health scares later, Mr Ford underwent another operation to remove some of the initial plates and screws to alleviate some of his pain.

“We did everything to find a surgeon who would take on my case, the pain was becoming unbearable so I went back into surgery to have some of the titanium removed,” Mr Ford said.

After maintaining a positive outlook, Mr Ford hit rock bottom after he became conscious during his five-hour surgery.

Brandon Ford and his little girl.

“I was conscious but I couldn’t see, they got the dosage wrong and I could feel banging, saws and snapping – I could even hear the conversations about how they had to break my leg during the surgery,” Mr Ford said.

“It was extremely traumatic and I woke up screaming and inconsolable.

“I kept trying to wake myself up to let them know I was conscious but I couldn't, and now when I got to sleep I have recurring nightmares that I’m back there,” he said.

After the surgery Mr Ford’s health began to deteriorate with further excruciating pain, fevers and inspections.

Multiple antibiotic treatments failed, and he later felt his leg starting to repeatedly boil up.

Mr Ford has now made the informed decision to have his leg amputated next week.

“We and my surgeon did everything we could and our other option was to keep fighting the infection but I would have 18 months of no walking,” Mr Ford said.

“My family business is going under and I need to consider my family and our future.

“We’ve now seen the best in surgeries, and we’ve seen the worst in surgery. So knowing what can happen scares me a bit, but I need to stay positive.

“The pain medication is horrific and I can’t do it any more.”

The family have started a GoFundMe to help them recover financially from this unimaginably painful past year.

“We never usually ask for help but we're now relying on our community,” Mr Ford said.

“I want to get my story out there to be a help to anyone who is or may become and amputee.”