A father who lost his limbs in a terrible work accident has revealed how he's finally able to put his arms around his daughters and cuddle them again after a double hand transplant.
Scaffolder Jamie Mines, 39, had both his arms and legs amputated after being shocked by 33,000 volts through a tin sheet he was holding while building a temporary shelter at work.
Jamie, from Bradford on Avon, Wiltshire, was placed in an induced coma for three weeks, spending a total of 10 weeks in intensive care after the near-fatal shock on December 19, 2016.
He miraculously pulled through after having his arms, right leg and left toes amputated. The former semi-professional footballer, who was previously dubbed a 'goal machine', later had to have his one remaining limb - his left leg - removed.
Last year, however, father-of-two Jamie underwent a successful double hand transplant - explaining to The Mirror: 'Life is so good since my transplant. It was amazing putting my arms around my daughters again, properly cuddling them for the first time since the accident.'
He also told BBC News today on being able to cuddle his daughters: 'That's amazing, and to be able to hold their hands.
'They're going to school now. Each step, each month it goes by, making good recovery, it's all lovely. Never thought that would happen after the electrocution you know,' he admitted.
Jamie was thrown back 13ft following the shock and landed on the half-finished metal roof, where he previously recalled feeling like his 'whole body was on fire'.
Recalling the horror in 2017, Jamie, whose twin daughters Savannah and Isabella are now six years old, said: 'I was holding this metal sheet and then I just remember a massive surge suddenly burning my insides.
'I don't know if I blacked out from the pain because the next thing I knew I was lying on my back four metres away.
'I was trying to stay still because I knew I could fall off the roof but the pain was a thousand times worse than anything I have felt before.
'I was screaming and shouting, telling the guys to call an ambulance. I knew exactly what had happened, I had been electrocuted - I was too close to the power.
'It felt like my heart and lungs were burning and then it was my legs and arms. My whole body was on fire, like there was 1,000 degree heat inside me, but there were no flames. I thought I was dead. I thought I was burned to a crisp.'
Paramedics climbed a ladder to treat the injured labourer before he was stretchered into an air ambulance and rushed to Southmead Hospital in Bristol.
There, medics placed Jamie in an induced coma for three weeks and gave his family the devastating news that he could die.
In the three days after the shock surgeons amputated Jamie's right leg, left forearm and half of his left foot, and 10 days later they removed his right arm, before months later removing his other limb.
Jamie said: 'The last thing I remember was being wheeled across the bumpy track in the yard to the air ambulance before I was sedated. And then I woke up in hospital with no limbs.'
He added: 'When I first truly realised what had happened, I didn't see any future. I only had memories of the past, of playing tennis, cricket, golf, all sorts.
'I was a touchy feely person before. I was hands on, changing nappies and everything, then suddenly I couldn't even open a bottle of drink any more.
'But my biggest fear was not knowing if the babies would remember me. When I saw them after three months, they had changed so much. I hardly recognised them - they were chubby and had all this hair.
'I was scared they wouldn't recognise me because at first my voice was a husky, low whisper because one of my vocal cords was fried. But I got to hold them again and it was so emotional. They did know who I was. It was lovely.'
Jamie heard of the first double hand transplant operation taking place at Leeds General Infirmary and contacted Professor Simon Kay, who’d led the procedure.
Once cleared for the surgery, Jamie joined the waiting list for a donor. He waited over two years until March last year, when he successful underwent the procedure.
'I could see fingers coming out of the bandages. The fingers felt like mine immediately,' said Jamie, who has since been on holiday and enjoyed swimming once again.
Jamie - who appears on tomorrow night's BBC documentary Saving Lives In Leeds - has sent an email to the donor's family, explaining how 'life-changing this gift is'.
He explained: 'What an amazing, kind and brave thing it was to give me their loved one’s limbs. I’m making good use of them.'
Jamie's former employer Boundary Scaffolding Ltd was reportedly fined £80,000 for the accident. Its director also received a six-month suspended sentence.
