A Liverpool Hope University graduate who nearly lost a leg following a succession of freak football injuries is celebrating after landing his dream job as a teacher.
Colin Hartley broke his leg three times in as many years during the course of his studies and feared he would need to have it amputated after contracting an infection during his recovery.
The 31-year-old from Woolton endured eight operations in his four years at Liverpool Hope, where he studied an undergraduate degree in Childhood and Youth & Education before embarking on a PGCE.
Describing it as the ‘scariest period’ of his life, Colin thought his health challenges would derail his plans to become a teacher, but showed remarkable resilience to persevere and secure a role teaching business and IT at Halewood Academy.
“This has been the scariest period of my life and the hardest thing I’ve ever had to do,” said Colin, who graduated on Wednesday 19 July.
“I initially broke my leg playing for Wood Street in the Liverpool Old Boys League in September 2019, two days before I was due to start my undergraduate degree.
“I then broke my right leg six games after coming back in December 2020. It was a double break and they had to regrow the bone so I had 24 pins put in and had to wear a leg cage for nine months.
“I went to watch the team after I recovered and broke it again kicking a ball on the sideline because the bone was still too weak after being regrown.”
The surgery to correct the final break should have been the end of Colin’s injury troubles, but it seemed like his problems were only just beginning.
His recovery was marred by three successive infections that required a further five operations, with each one increasing the likelihood of amputation.
“After my third break I woke up one day and my vision was blurred, my heart was racing and I couldn’t walk so I was admitted to A&E with a blood infection,” he added.
“They drained the infection but it came back a couple of weeks later so I had another surgery but the infection returned and my leg was going purple so they had to take the bone out and grow it again.
“Unfortunately, once I took the leg cage off I got another infection higher up the leg so they had to restart the rehabilitation in order to save it.
“I recovered from that and was back in work in November last year when the wound got infected as it was healing so they had to drill some of the bone out and thankfully it’s been fine since then.
“It was such a worrying time but I have had unbelievable support from my partner, my family and the University.”
Having made a full recovery, Colin set about making up for lost time, landing his first full-time teaching post within three months of his final operation and five months before he was due to complete his PGCE.
The father of one initially joined Halewood Academy as part of his PGCE placement, before becoming fully-fledged teacher at the end of June and, with his own impressive story of triumph over adversity behind him, he is now looking forward to inspiring the next generation of students.
“A couple of years ago I would never have thought I had this in my locker,” says Colin.
“Becoming a teacher was all I wanted to do. I wanted it so badly and I think that helped in terms of having the determination to complete the PGCE despite everything that happened.
“It’s the best and worst thing that’s ever happened to me. It’s been traumatic but it has shown me what I can achieve and it’s taught me to always look forward.”