My Left Foot

I'm giving a talk to the 6th form tomorrow for which this will be a key image.  It is a picture of my left foot, and particularly, the joint just behind my big toe.  The disfigurement was the result of a friction burn that was caused when I was hit and subsequently dragged along a road by a car driven by a drunk driver.  It happened when I was 18, a little over 30 years ago.

At the time, I could see the inside of the sole of my foot through the hole burnt into the top.  I incurred other injuries too, but this was the most serious.  In the first few days, it was in the balance whether I would lose the toe entirely, but the decision was taken to clean it and then to see if skin grafts would take.

I was on crutches for 6 months, and could only walk at something approaching normal speed a further 6 months on.  The graft still splits now if I wear shoes that rub along its edge; the joint aches in the cold, damp months as well.

I'm hoping that my talking to them, rather than looking at yet another powerpoint of statistics, will make them think carefully about the possible consequences of driving while drunk.