John...

When Banbridge man John fell asleep in front of the TV in his living room last August, he could never have envisioned what lay ahead.

Unbeknown to him, the potentially fatal infection sepsis was already working its way around his system.

His sister, who had called in to visit, found him unresponsive and phoned for an ambulance.

John woke up more than two weeks later in the high dependency unit in hospital, to face the shocking reality that both his legs had been amputated above the knee.

He spent the next four months in various hospitals before being discharged to begin this new and daunting phase of his life.

"It has been a very big adjustment," he says. "Many a time I wake up in the morning, and completely forget that I don't have lower legs any more."

However, the 49-year-old, who was always fiercely independent, is slowly coming to terms with the fact that he now relies on others to an extent he never had to before.

He still lives in his Victorian terrace house, where the kitchen serves as a bedroom and bathroom,  until a new purpose-built ground-floor flat is ready, hopefully some time next year.

As a wheelchair user, one of his other biggest challenges is transport.

And that's where DART has stepped in with the Access Plus scheme, funded by the Motability  Foundation and free of charge to users like John. 

On the day we speak to John, driver Mervyn is taking him to a clinic in Hillsborough for an MRI scan, to identify and treat neuropathic pain he has been having in his hands.

Several weeks previously, the service had transported him to South Tyrone Hospital for a day procedure.

"My sister's friend is a nurse and she was aware of DART and told us about it," he says. "I wouldn't be able to get to these appointments without it because I couldn't afford it. 

"It's not easy getting transport when you're in a wheelchair. I don't know what I would do without DART."

Despite the challenges of the past 16 months, John, who previously worked as a logistic supervisor, is grateful for the support he receives and hopeful things will get better.

"Getting the keys to my new flat will be absolute heaven," he adds.

Written by Mairead Holland