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Man receives new leg after drink at his local pub

telegraph.co.uk — Not many people walk into a bar and walk out with a new leg. But that’s what happened to David Huckvale, 42, who needed a £40,000 bionic leg to walk again. The father-of-two popped down to his local pub on the same day surgeon Alistair Gibson, who specialises in fitting the computer-controlled limb, was there for a pint.

Who dugg this? Made popular Sep 29, 2008

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  • Wuped, on 09/28/2008, -1/+60And people say drinking is bad for your health.
  • MacBookForMe, on 09/28/2008, -0/+44I adore old fashioned pubs! (that was just another reason to love them:)
  • burketo, on 09/29/2008, -0/+40Gentlemen, we can rebuild him. We have the technology. We have the capability to make the world's first bionic man. We can make him better, stronger, faster!

    £40,000 is about $6,000,000 isn't it?
  • MrSmith34, on 09/29/2008, -1/+24Three cheers for Alistair Gibson!
  • basye, on 09/28/2008, -1/+23Now that's something to drink to!
  • thescimitar, on 09/29/2008, -1/+21Whoooooosh...
  • LLLSecretChimp, on 09/29/2008, -1/+18Glad the doc could help a fellow get a leg up.
  • thcobbs, on 09/29/2008, -0/+15Obviously... it gives some people a leg up on the world.
  • handmadewallaby, on 09/29/2008, -0/+15I'll raise a pint to that.
  • powatom, on 09/29/2008, -1/+15What a great thing to do for someone!

    Although the cynic in me immediately wonders why these legs are £40,000 if Mr Gibson managed to give away, and fit one, for free.
  • FriniK, on 09/29/2008, -0/+14Stories like these put my faith back into humanity.
  • BenKenobi88, on 09/29/2008, -0/+11He's a rich doctor?
  • AmyVernon, on 09/28/2008, -0/+9Talk about serendipity.
  • CdnPhoto, on 09/29/2008, -0/+7It really sounds like the beginning of a joke.

    Glad it's a good tale.
  • Tollboi, on 09/29/2008, -0/+7Now his wife never gives him ***** for going to the pub either, double win!
  • ivantalboys, on 09/29/2008, -0/+7Indeed,

    Gentlemen, we can rebuild him. We have the technology.
  • wtfmate112, on 09/29/2008, -0/+6√
  • briguymaine, on 09/29/2008, -0/+6"To alcohol! The cause of... and solution to... all of life's problems," - Homer J Simpson
  • idntunknwn, on 09/29/2008, -0/+6How exactly do you have a spare bionic leg lying around?
  • eviljolly, on 09/29/2008, -0/+5I guess it's pretty obvious whose side he would pick in the Cyborg vs Pirate war.
  • LoopyChew, on 09/29/2008, -0/+5Did anyone else think of Jeff Murdock from Coupling on hearing this news?

    "What kind of prosthetic do you have?"
    "It's a...Footmatic."
    "Footmatic?"
    "Yes, it's new, experimental."

    "I've got the key to the Gates of Paradise...but I've got too many legs!"
  • yaryarhumphump, on 09/29/2008, -0/+4Now that man is a decent human being, bravo my friend bravo.
  • thcobbs, on 09/29/2008, -0/+4Do you really think you can strap a pc to an artificial limb... program it to mimic all the functions of a normal leg and not have it crash at an important time(crossing the street) for $50?

    These things have been in development for years(if not decades).
  • Tollboi, on 09/29/2008, -1/+5Now his wife never gives him ***** for going to the pub either, double win!
  • Phil13, on 09/29/2008, -0/+4True for me also. Sadly, reading comments on websites like digg.com swiftly rips it away again.
  • rubaaan, on 09/29/2008, -0/+4beer saves lives!
  • SDeluxe, on 09/29/2008, -0/+3Cool story, nice to hear good news every now and then
  • inactive, on 09/29/2008, -0/+3I have similar story.
    I went to bar in need of sex, and it was full of tramps.
  • Flappy3, on 09/29/2008, -0/+3Cheers!
  • Spawn2105, on 09/29/2008, -0/+3Talk about being at the right place at the right time!
  • inactive, on 09/29/2008, -0/+3He only lost his time, the leg was a spare.

    Maybe it didn't fit the person it was originally made for.
  • bphicke, on 09/29/2008, -0/+3Doesn't everyone?
  • tito13kfm, on 09/29/2008, -0/+3The guy who had his penis cut off during surgery should go drinking at this pub.
  • honeybrass, on 09/29/2008, -0/+3Actually, the tumour had nothing to do with his leg removal, they forgot to add, "After leaving the hospital Mr Huckvale was attacked by a malfunctioning robot, in the fight he lost his leg."

    So I guess now he gets his own back.
  • sdellboy, on 09/29/2008, -1/+4They shouldn't have been serving him. He was clearly legless.

  • BlueScribe, on 09/29/2008, -0/+3A Man walks into a bar...
  • retrospects, on 09/29/2008, -0/+3for his name in the paper. he is now known as the awesome prosthetics man!
  • centran, on 09/29/2008, -0/+3I don't think we are hearing the full story. Maybe the leg he received was an experiment that the good doctor couldn't get the medical board to review.... Or maybe it was an older model which the doctor didn't feel right trying to sell when a better model was already out... Or maybe the doctor is just a good businessman, doesn't care about doing a good deed, and just wanted the "free" marketing/publicity.
  • shadowspawn, on 09/29/2008, -0/+2And in another galaxy, a depressed robot is now stuck walking around in a circle bogged in a swamp, who's only conversation partner is an overly-happy mattress that was grown there.

    Voon.
  • kishosingh, on 09/29/2008, -0/+2Good Luck Mr. David Huckvale!
  • Stavrosian, on 09/29/2008, -1/+3Makes a change from the ubiquitous "man in a pub" who offers you cheap cigarettes and DVDs. I'll drink to a higher class of bar-room tradesman!
  • powatom, on 09/29/2008, -1/+3Yes - but that still doesn't answer the question. It was all given to him for free. Nada. Zip. While it is amazing for Mr Gibson to do such a thing for him, the question remains: why does it cost £40,000 if it can be given away for free just like that?

    It's entirely possible that Mr Gibson was feeling incredibly generous that day, and thought that the loss of £40,000 was nothing compared to changing somebody's life for the better. However, I think we should be told just how much these things are marked up by. £40,000 is a hell of a lot of money, and I think those who need them should be able to get them in the easiest way possible.
  • empraptor, on 09/29/2008, -0/+2It worked out fine for him. But the rational thing to do for other people saving up for a bionic limb? Don't go to the pub. Don't spend the money on alcohol and instead save that money. The odds are against you if you're betting on meeting a doctor with a spare leg.
  • ParanoydAndroid, on 09/29/2008, -0/+2Damn you Brits. Here in America no one ever offers me cheap cigarettes or DVD's while I'm drinking, and I'd probably take them up on both.
  • johnomaz, on 09/29/2008, -0/+2That kind of genuine kindness is rare these days.
  • KC9ECI, on 09/29/2008, -0/+2Somewhere, a guy that used to carve peg legs out of oak for pirates is spinning in his grave.
  • Blandyman, on 09/29/2008, -0/+1The odds are also against you if you save $5 on a pint twice a week and save it towards your leg.
  • Pushkin, on 09/29/2008, -0/+1And now one for the other leg! Ah - My mistake - let's remedy that shall we, my good man?
  • charm803, on 09/29/2008, -0/+1The beer made him do it.

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