13 June 2023 , 10:44
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Anthony Seward was 21 years old when his left hand got caught in an unprotected factory machine, and forced him to give up his dream job forever - or, so he thought.
He had only been working at Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue Service (DSFRS) for a year when he was 'degloved' by an industrial mangle at his side job in 2017.
Now, six years later, Anthony is back doing what he loves most as an on-call firefighter, after multiple surgeries on the NHS saved the grip strength in his injured hand.
One procedure involved surgeons sewing his limb inside his stomach to create a 'pocket', which incredibly kept it alive for three weeks.
The horrific hand injury meant he had to give up his dream job as a firefighter (Anthony Seward / SWNS)
But after four surgeries and with sheer determination, he's back on the fire squad (Daniel Dayment / SWNS)Anthony, from Tiverton, Devon, said: "I'd always wanted to help people and so the fire service was something I was interested in.
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"Every day is different, it's a challenging but great job. But at first, I had to work a job on the side too - which is when I had my accident at a factory.
"My hand was crushed and I lost all of my grip strength and dexterity. It was quite a serious de-gloving injury."
It wasn't until surgeons amputated the tips of four of his fingers that Anthony "realised he was never going to be a firefighter again".
Medics had to sew his left hand into his stomach to keep it alive for three weeks (Anthony Seward / SWNS)"I had envisioned a long career in the fire service doing what I enjoyed. It's an incredible job, to have that taken away was devastating," he said.
But medics managed to save the rest of his hand using a World War One-era technique of storing his smashed hand inside his abdomen to help it heal.
The unusual op by surgeon James Henderson took place at Southmead NHS Hospital in Bristol.
After four surgeries, Anthony decided to study strength and conditioning at the University of Birmingham to move into the sports sector.
Anthony re-joined the fire service after six years of thinking it was impossible (Daniel Dayment / SWNS)Then as part of his course during a test last September, he realised that he was able to meet the minimum grip strength to re-join the fire service.
"I had given up on ever returning but then as part of a module I tested my grip strength and I just barely passed," he said.
"I suddenly realised that it might be possible to go back. I had been able to do deadlifts and pull ups, grip strength was one of the last real physical barriers.
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"Passing the test gave me a green light, so I just thought, 'this may actually be physically possible'. It was just up to me to work around practical demands of the job."
He is incredibly grateful to the NHS and his Bristol surgeon James Henderson (Daniel Dayment / SWNS)Anthony spent weeks modifying his old service gloves into a mitten for his hand and tested them out in training exercises.
"Eventually I asked to be re-admitted, and passed the tests. It was quite surreal," he explained.
"Once I got back in they were really helpful to make sure I was practical and operational. I really wanted to be a help, not a hinderance. Now it's just back to work.''
Anthony credits the 'amazing' work of the NHS, paramedics and air ambulance for his recovery.
Anthony hopes to repay his heroes by saving other people's lives on the job (Daniel Dayment / SWNS)He added: "I wouldn't be in this position without the NHS, without the work that my surgeons did initially, the air ambulance and the ambulance service as well.
"I'm in this position because of them. I'm extremely grateful, there's nothing I feel that I can do to repay them but hopefully I can do good by being back in another time."
Anthony's former employers were fined £300,000 after admitting health and safety offences when they failed to replace a broken safety barrier on the mangle.
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