STANDING TALL: Chris and Denise Arthey. Photos supplied

By Aney Mathew

It doesn’t matter what you are upset about today or who has disappointed you. By the time you read the story of Denise and Chris Arthey, you will agree that we often sweat the small stuff too much. The truth is, there is plenty to be thankful for.
Denise and Chris are an amazing couple — positive, upbeat and cheerful. From the word go, they inspire you. This is not a story of a couple of optimists; this is an account of a resilient duo who refused to let the big boulders that life threw at them, defeat them. Theirs is a story of hope, faith, love and courage.
They are an ‘ordinary’ couple — as they put it — with an extraordinary story. And that is putting it mildly.
Chris, a career engineer aged 60, loves athletics and absolutely enjoys participating in triathlons — running Olympic distance events. As he swims, cycles and races towards the finishing line, he does it with a passion and purpose. Watching him speed on his bike, racing ahead of his able-bodied competitors, you might actually miss the fact that he’s doing it with a prosthetic leg! Chris is a transfemoral amputee. He’s quite an inspiration, and you can’t miss the twinkle in his eye!
If his attitude makes you wonder, there’s more to come. His wife Denise — also 60, is equally inspiring. Denise chooses to work out and swim regularly — often swimming 500m, despite being an amputee herself — she has prosthesis too. In addition, Denise volunteers at an international school, working with children is her passion in life. The most noticeable thing about Denise is that she never stops smiling. A pity party is certainly not her cup of tea.
Life made an about-turn for this couple from the UK when they were maimed in a life-shattering accident in 2008. Following an assignment in the US, they went on a much awaited motorcycle vacation. Their highly anticipated dream turned into a nightmare, when a drunken driver crashed into them, almost head-on!
As a result, both had to have their left legs amputated above the knee and suffered broken left arms and hands, with Denise’s left forearm being ‘degloved’. In addition, Chris suffered a punctured lung, broken ribs and the loss of his spleen. As if that wasn’t enough, both succumbed to concussion — Chris’ being particularly severe. But for the Artheys, it wasn’t the end of the road. To them, their journey was certainly not over, not even remotely.
What’s most striking is their penchant for life — their courage, their determination and their love for each other. Incredible as it may sound, they harbour no bitterness over what happened and have completely forgiven their offender. The story of how they’ve bounced back to the ‘normal’ and their passion for life, is probably worth writing a book about.  
Following a courageous recovery and determined return to normalcy, they are here in Qatar today, having been seconded to RasGas about three years ago.
Talking to Community about the aftermath of that fateful accident, Denise says very simply, “We don’t have any recollection of the accident as we blanked out completely. Within hours of regaining consciousness, I knew I had lost my leg. To be honest, there was so much to cope with — the pain, medications, surgeries and visitors — that I was just managing one day at a time. As for being an amputee, I had grown up around my grandfather — also an amputee; he had lived a very fulfilled life. So, I just knew that everything would work out; our faith played a critical role in this.”
“As for me, I emerged into consciousness very slowly, and was very muddled because of the concussion and medication. So there wasn’t a ‘moment’ when the reality of being an amputee suddenly dawned on me. I was devastated by the idea of not being able to run, and wanted to get out of the hospital and away from the whole nightmare situation. Denise was a huge support to me and really coped better than I did in those early days. I was hanging onto my faith as well,” recalls Chris, who was actually in a coma after the accident.
One would think an accident of this scale would leave anyone absolutely distraught and helpless, but it only seems to have set the Artheys more firmly on the road of life.
However, they do admit that it was by no means an easy road.   
“Initially, it was tough; everything was broken down the left side of our bodies and we were in terrible pain, including ‘phantom pain’ in the foot that we didn’t have anymore. Progress was terribly slow, and it was initially frustrating to be so dependent on others. We were very conscious of our disfigurement, and the level of our disability. It was the nightmare that you wake up to, rather wake up from, and we were aware of our disability at all times. It felt like ageing 20-30 years overnight. We are so thankful for the support of friends, family and the medical staff who helped us through some bleak days. It was very important to focus on what was left rather than what was lost, and on our progress (however small), rather than how far we still had to go.
I remember being fitted with our first prosthetic legs after four months; we were able to stand ‘normally’ on our own for the first time — it was a very emotional experience,” recounts Chris.
What distinguishes the story of the Artheys from other inspiring accounts of people’s recovery from similar devastating situations is that beyond regaining the use of their limbs and going about life as if everything were normal — even to the point of actively taking part in physical activities and sports — the couple disarm you with their incredible cheerfulness and optimism.  
“Life is remarkably good. It’s been possible to adjust to the ‘new normal’. There isn’t much we can’t do if we give ourselves time. We’ve surprised ourselves by how we’ve coped and what we’ve been able to achieve — it’s a miracle, really. We love life together as a couple and we have plenty to be thankful for. We are living out our dream except that our youngsters are 5,000km away,” Denise says with remarkable enthusiasm.
So how did their children take it when they heard the news of the accident?
“Our three children — Ben, Tom and Miriam have been marvellous. It naturally was a huge shock to them; they travelled directly to the US, not knowing if we would both survive. We were always a close family, but at the time of the accident, they were 24, 22 and 18 years old, and at the point where they were building their own lives back in England. The accident threw them together and they are now very close to each other and to us. They were offered post-traumatic counselling but said they really didn’t need it, they were just sad at what had happened. Through it all, they still treated us exactly the same — Mum and Dad” recalls Denise, with her characteristic smile.
Continued on Page 6.