{"id":470,"date":"2025-11-20T14:00:42","date_gmt":"2025-11-20T14:00:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/naekokozawa.online\/?p=470"},"modified":"2025-11-20T14:00:42","modified_gmt":"2025-11-20T14:00:42","slug":"from-tragedy-to-triumph-the-man-who-got-the-first-nhs-3d-printed-face-after-a-devastating-accident","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/naekokozawa.online\/?p=470","title":{"rendered":"From Tragedy to Triumph: The Man Who Got the First NHS 3D-Printed Face After a Devastating Accident!"},"content":{"rendered":"<header class=\"entry-header\"><\/header>\n<div class=\"entry-content\">\n<div class=\"entry-image\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"attachment-full size-full wp-post-image\" src=\"https:\/\/beaware.fun\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/collage-2-2.jpg\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px\" srcset=\"https:\/\/beaware.fun\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/collage-2-2.jpg 1200w, https:\/\/beaware.fun\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/collage-2-2-768x403.jpg 768w\" alt=\"\" width=\"1200\" height=\"630\" \/><\/div>\n<div class=\"entry-content\">\n<p data-start=\"241\" data-end=\"711\">When 75-year-old Devon cyclist Dave Richards looks in the mirror today, he sees not only a survivor, but living proof of how far medical innovation \u2014 and human resilience \u2014 can go. In July 2021, Dave and two friends were cycling near Mere when a drunk driver, distracted by his phone, ploughed into them at speed. His friends were thrown clear. Dave wasn\u2019t. He was dragged underneath the vehicle, the engine burning through one side of his face as the other was crushed.<\/p>\n<div class=\"code-block code-block-2\"><\/div>\n<p data-start=\"241\" data-end=\"711\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-62676\" src=\"https:\/\/beaware.fun\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Screenshot_24-1.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"600\" height=\"494\" \/><\/p>\n<p data-start=\"713\" data-end=\"1019\">He suffered full-thickness facial burns, a broken back, shattered ribs, and a fractured pelvis. Surgeons fought to save his eye but ultimately removed it to prevent infection from spreading to his brain. A complex free-flap surgery followed, along with multiple procedures to release tightened scar tissue.<\/p>\n<div class=\"code-block code-block-3\"><\/div>\n<p data-start=\"713\" data-end=\"1019\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-62677\" src=\"https:\/\/beaware.fun\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Screenshot_23-1.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"586\" height=\"719\" \/><\/p>\n<p data-start=\"1021\" data-end=\"1408\">During recovery at Bristol Royal Infirmary, Dave met specialists who introduced him to a groundbreaking possibility: a custom, lifelike prosthesis created through the NHS\u2019s new 3D Medical Centre at Frenchay. When the centre opened, he became one of its very first patients \u2014 and the first to receive a 3D-printed facial prosthesis matching his exact skin tone, hair, and even eye colour.<\/p>\n<div class=\"code-block code-block-4\"><\/div>\n<p data-start=\"1021\" data-end=\"1408\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-62678\" src=\"https:\/\/beaware.fun\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Screenshot_22.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"587\" height=\"755\" \/><\/p>\n<p data-start=\"1410\" data-end=\"1673\">The journey wasn\u2019t easy. Mold-making required layers of wax, casts, and claustrophobic impressions covering his nose and mouth. Later, a 3D-printed neck splint softened scar tissue, making it easier to wear the prosthesis. \u201cAfter a week, I was amazed,\u201d Dave said.<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"1410\" data-end=\"1673\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-62679\" src=\"https:\/\/beaware.fun\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Screenshot_21.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"569\" height=\"793\" \/><\/p>\n<p data-start=\"1675\" data-end=\"1906\">But the physical recovery was only part of the battle. \u201cIn the early days, I felt very vulnerable,\u201d he admitted. \u201cI struggled with my appearance, with how people might look at me. It took me a long time to rebuild that confidence.\u201d<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"1908\" data-end=\"2215\">Still, resilience has been a lifelong habit. Just five months after the crash, Dave climbed back onto a bike indoors, slowly regaining strength. What frustrates him still is the drunk driver\u2019s reduced sentence \u2014 just 18 months served. \u201cI very nearly lost my life,\u201d he said. \u201cI live with the pain every day.\u201d<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"1908\" data-end=\"2215\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-62680\" src=\"https:\/\/beaware.fun\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Screenshot_19-1.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"596\" height=\"819\" \/><\/p>\n<p data-start=\"2217\" data-end=\"2419\">Yet optimism remains his compass. \u201cI\u2019m glad I followed this treatment process \u2014 it\u2019s got me to where I am today. I\u2019ve always said: if there\u2019s a benefit and the risks aren\u2019t too high, I\u2019ll try anything.\u201d<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"2421\" data-end=\"2539\" data-is-last-node=\"\" data-is-only-node=\"\">For Dave Richards, hope isn\u2019t abstract. It\u2019s engineered, printed, worn \u2014 and carried forward with every mile he rides.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>When 75-year-old Devon cyclist Dave Richards looks in the mirror today, he sees not only a survivor, but living proof of how far medical innovation \u2014 and human resilience \u2014 &hellip; <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-470","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/naekokozawa.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/470","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/naekokozawa.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/naekokozawa.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naekokozawa.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naekokozawa.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=470"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/naekokozawa.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/470\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":471,"href":"https:\/\/naekokozawa.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/470\/revisions\/471"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/naekokozawa.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=470"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naekokozawa.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=470"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naekokozawa.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=470"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}