Bolton: Horwich former nurse's leg saved after horror injury

Sharon Cartwright, aged 58 from Horwich, slipped on some ice while putting some rubbish in a skip three years ago, fracturing her right leg in 11 places, including her tibia and fibula and shattering the bones in her ankle.

Her initial recovery was blighted by immense pain and an infection so bad that doctors told her that she would likely lose her leg if it could not be brough under control.

“After all the surgeries, where the doctors put in countless screws, pins and plates, I was in a bad way,” Sharon said.

“The biggest problem I had during recovery is that I needed to be moving around to boost the blood flow to my foot, but I couldn’t move around because it hurt so much.

Sharon's ankle before using thinAir

“I kept getting infections and it was bad. The doctors told me that I would probably lose my leg, and I was in so much pain, it would have come as a relief.”

During a cryotherapy session in Blackburn in 2019, Sharon met Christopher Kavanagh, inventor of ‘thinAir’ – an adaptive oxygen therapy machine.

Essentially, the machine tricks the body into thinking it is at high altitude by using breathing apparatus, therefore triggering a response in the body to ultimately improves aerobic performance and recovery time.

Altitude training has been present in elite sports training for a long time, and thinAir takes the same principals and applies them to a multitude of therapeutic practices – including the treatment of Crohns disease, long Covid, and recovery from injuries such as Sharon’s.

“When I heard about thinAir, I figured I would give it a go, as I had nothing to lose. And it was one of the best decisions I’ve ever made,” Sharon said.

“I couldn’t believe it. thinAir saved my leg.

“The recovery was incredible. After the initial 15 sessions, I was well on my way to getting back to normal.

(L) Sharon's ankle after using thinAir for six weeks. (R) Sharon's ankle now

“It’s also really helped me in other ways too. I feel ten years younger and the asthma that I’ve had my entire life feels like it’s gone away completely.”

Christopher said: “Combining the science of intermittent hypoxic therapy with sophisticated software, we have created a world first in adaptive oxygen therapy that is changing the way people live.

“By stimulating the removal of inflammation from the brain and body, you can begin a process of recovery from injury, repair and eliminate damaged cells and regenerate new cells full of vitality.

Sharon and Christopher

‍ “We have helped people like Sharon to recover from horrific accidents or debilitating medical conditions.”

Sessions using thinAir can be accessed at Cryo Health and Beauty in Horwich. Each session lasts between 45 to 60 minutes.