Ian Colquhoun Lost His Legs In A Mind-Numbing Attack Yet He Says It Was Providence"
Losing a finger or toe is not a very nice experience, but to lose both legs and wake up in a hospital bed, emerging from a seven-week coma and lucky to be alive is devastation! This is what happened to 29 year old Ian Colquhoun, now a very talented writer and historian who says after being horrifically injured in a brutal, unprovoked and gruesome attack, "Losing my legs is the best thing to have happened to me."
After surviving a mind-numbing attack that saw his body suffer 65 percent burns, somehow Ian Colquhoun fought on. Given the last rites three times, Ian had thousands of people praying for his life all over the world ... all thanks to the internet.
Ian says, "The night I lost my legs started out as any other. I was living in Dundalk, in the Irish Republic. I'd moved there for a new career as a warehouseman. I met a girl there and after ten days of going out with her we went to a party not far from the house I shared with work colleagues. At the party I had a few drinks and fell asleep on the settee. All I remember was waking up and seeing some strange men looting the room. I didn't have time to take in how many of them were there. Within seconds, one of them swung a pick-axe handle at me. I must have passed out because my last memory is of seeing bright lights - then nothing! Seven weeks later I awoke from a coma."
The road to recovery has been a long personal battle where Ian even considered suicide a number of times. Having little prospect of working in a 'normal' 9-5 job made Ian consider other occupations. He had an interest in military history since a child and decided to embark on a writing career. Although he had no experience of writing, he penned two books which were accepted for publication. Furthering his interests even more, Ian took up an opportunity to become a movie stuntman. He would later find that his loss of limbs would actually be an advantage to some of the roles he was offered to play. Sadly the Irish authorities did not deem his circumstances strong enough to warrant a compensation payout, and no one has been brought to justice for the attack.
The former warehouseman has turned his life around since his ten month stay in hospital following the incident in Eire. Prior to being fitted with made to measure prosthetic limbs he spent two-and-a-half years in a wheelchair.
Some seven years later, Ian saw his autobiography, "Burnt", about his experiences published, and in another success he was invited on a UK TV book review show where his book was feted as "well written" by The Richards & Judy Show's Richard Madeley. Continuing in his good fortune, Ian starred as an injured sailor in the big screen film based on the real life sinking of the US Navy warship USS Indianapolis. The film covered how the ship's 900 sailors were swimming for their lives in shark infested waters in Guam during the Second World War.
Ian Colquhoun says, "I thought what they said about my legs being off was a stunt! I pulled back the sheets of my hospital bed and almost passed out with shock. I'll never forget the horrific moment I saw my legs had been amputated. As a young man who loved playing football, going out to parties and had a new girlfriend, I was utterly devastated. That day I didn't know if I wanted to carry on living; I couldn't see a future. Yet now, years on from that terrible day, incredibly my life is better than ever. Losing my legs did turn the whole lot upside down, but now I see it as the best thing to happen to me and made me into a better person."
Ian wrote his autobiography "Burnt" in the hope that it will inspire those that have undergone amputations. He hopes it shows those who are devastated by such a loss that their life has not come to an abrupt ending because of this. If Ian can become a stuntman without legs to stand on then there is hope for anyone who has endured such a calamity.
After surviving a mind-numbing attack that saw his body suffer 65 percent burns, somehow Ian Colquhoun fought on. Given the last rites three times, Ian had thousands of people praying for his life all over the world ... all thanks to the internet.
Ian says, "The night I lost my legs started out as any other. I was living in Dundalk, in the Irish Republic. I'd moved there for a new career as a warehouseman. I met a girl there and after ten days of going out with her we went to a party not far from the house I shared with work colleagues. At the party I had a few drinks and fell asleep on the settee. All I remember was waking up and seeing some strange men looting the room. I didn't have time to take in how many of them were there. Within seconds, one of them swung a pick-axe handle at me. I must have passed out because my last memory is of seeing bright lights - then nothing! Seven weeks later I awoke from a coma."
The road to recovery has been a long personal battle where Ian even considered suicide a number of times. Having little prospect of working in a 'normal' 9-5 job made Ian consider other occupations. He had an interest in military history since a child and decided to embark on a writing career. Although he had no experience of writing, he penned two books which were accepted for publication. Furthering his interests even more, Ian took up an opportunity to become a movie stuntman. He would later find that his loss of limbs would actually be an advantage to some of the roles he was offered to play. Sadly the Irish authorities did not deem his circumstances strong enough to warrant a compensation payout, and no one has been brought to justice for the attack.
The former warehouseman has turned his life around since his ten month stay in hospital following the incident in Eire. Prior to being fitted with made to measure prosthetic limbs he spent two-and-a-half years in a wheelchair.
Some seven years later, Ian saw his autobiography, "Burnt", about his experiences published, and in another success he was invited on a UK TV book review show where his book was feted as "well written" by The Richards & Judy Show's Richard Madeley. Continuing in his good fortune, Ian starred as an injured sailor in the big screen film based on the real life sinking of the US Navy warship USS Indianapolis. The film covered how the ship's 900 sailors were swimming for their lives in shark infested waters in Guam during the Second World War.
Ian Colquhoun says, "I thought what they said about my legs being off was a stunt! I pulled back the sheets of my hospital bed and almost passed out with shock. I'll never forget the horrific moment I saw my legs had been amputated. As a young man who loved playing football, going out to parties and had a new girlfriend, I was utterly devastated. That day I didn't know if I wanted to carry on living; I couldn't see a future. Yet now, years on from that terrible day, incredibly my life is better than ever. Losing my legs did turn the whole lot upside down, but now I see it as the best thing to happen to me and made me into a better person."
Ian wrote his autobiography "Burnt" in the hope that it will inspire those that have undergone amputations. He hopes it shows those who are devastated by such a loss that their life has not come to an abrupt ending because of this. If Ian can become a stuntman without legs to stand on then there is hope for anyone who has endured such a calamity.
About the Author:
writer, military historian and double leg amputee Ian Colquhoun shows how amputation is not the end of your life. Read his uplifting story here in his book "Burnt".
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