Garth Johnston: Penguin amputee shares story ahead of event

A Tasmanian man whose leg was claimed by a horror workplace incident will be front and centre at an upcoming event offering advice and friendship to our state’s amputee community.

Penguin man Garth Johnston. Picture: Contributed

It was in August 2015 when Penguin ex-cop Garth Johnston had both feet crushed by a dropped pallet loaded with 178 kilograms of ball bearings while working as a delivery driver.

Initially, doctors took just the second, most damaged toe on his left foot. A man who describes himself as “pragmatic,” Mr Johnston sourced a brace to “keep my foot together” and got a casual job at Woolworths Ulverstone to support himself in his reduced circumstances.

Then, in July 2017, he felt a new, “searing” pain in his left foot. His other toes needed to come off, too.

A year later, the pain returned while on a walk with his elderly mum and sister, visiting him from his native South Australia – Mr Johnston served with SA Police – necessitating another hospital trip.

Penguin man Garth Johnston's left foot after it was crushed by a pallet in August 2015. Picture: Contributed

Mr Johnston said he was shown scans of his foot, indicating a spreading infection. When the doctor suggested taking everything but his heel off, Mr Johnston drew a line in the sand.

“I said, listen to me, I’ve been in twice, I’m not going to come back a third or fourth time, I want it off below the knee,” Mr Johnston said.

“That’s what I wanted. I felt like I could then move on.”

After the surgery, Mr Johnston said his blood-pressure dropped and he felt an instant boost of energy – “The toxins were out of my system,” he said.

Penguin man Garth Johnston's prosthetic leg, made from resin, titanium, carbon fibre, and other materials. Picture: Contributed

He cycled through a series of sockets and legs in the public system before Anton Menge, of the Launceston Orthotic & Prosthetic Service reached out in January last year to ask whether he could be of service.

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Using the funds from his new NDIS plan, Mr Johnston paid the clinic a visit – two weeks later, he had two prosthetics, one for recreation, the other for everyday use. He likes the way the red one glimmers in the sunshine like a new Ferrari.

Mr Johnston and the Prosthetic Service will again team up on March 25 for the third Tasmanian amputee community event, to be held in Launceston’s Tramsheds Function Centre.

Two successful events were previously held at Penguin and Hobart, attended by dozens of people living with limb loss, and their families.

Penguin man Garth Johnston's prosthetic legs. Picture: Contributed

Previous events led to some important connections, Mr Johnston said, such as when an elderly man and woman, who both lost their upper limbs, met.

“The beauty of that is you don’t see a lot of upper limb amputees because a lot have the ability to cover it up,” Mr Johnston said.

The wider group then quizzed each other on topics such as how they brushed their teeth.

“You just ask, that’s the beauty of peer support. It’s not finger pointing, it’s shared interest,” Mr Johnston said.

This year’s community event will feature guest speakers addressing topics including airport security for amputees, osseointegration (the joining of a metal pylon to actual bone in the damaged limb rather than a separate synthetic item) and carbon fibre versus silicon in the composition of limbs.