Scaffolder who lost all four limbs after electric shock splits from mum of his twin girls because he doesn’t want to be a ‘burden’
The dad-of-two insists his split from his then-girlfriend was amicable and says he 'lives for' his kids' visits as he looks to make a new life for himself as a Paralympic sprinter
A DAD who lost all his limbs after a 33,000-volt electric shock has split with the mum of his twin girls because he doesn’t want to be a ”burden”.
Scaffolder Jamie Mines, 34, was thrown 13ft from a half-finished roof when the electricity surged through a metal sheet he was holding.
Jamie spent ten weeks in intensive care supported by then-girlfriend Harley Ware and their twin daughters Savannah and Isabella.
But he has revealed he amicably split from 26-year-old Harley in February and is living alone.
He said: “We parted on good terms. I just didn’t want to be a burden – she had to deal with a lot, looking after me.”
Now, Jamie who “lives for” his daughters’ visits sees them once a week for a day and overnight, and has thrown himself into fatherhood.
Despite his injuries the loving dad is thriving with his four prosthetic limbs, cleaning his home and cooking for himself and his daughters when they visit.
Jamie who has learnt to drive thanks to a specially-adapted steering wheel is also aiming to be a Paralympic runner.
He said: “I’m getting fitter each day. I take the girls to the park when they’re here.
“They like being outdoors, which can be hard for me, because I get tired very quickly.
“But I’ve started going to the gym for an hour every morning, trying to get my energy levels back up to how they were before the accident.”
The dad of two has care staff visit twice a day, at 12pm and 6pm, to help him around the house – but he says he is able to do most things for himself.
He said: “I can cook for myself if it’s something that just needs to go on a baking tray in the oven, and I can boil veg and so on.
“I can pretty much do most things for myself – I can hoover the house, but the one thing I struggle with is dusting.”
He added: “I have dressed the girls before, but it takes me about an hour to do.
“So the carer helps me get them dressed and undressed, and helps with bathtimes and nappy changes and things like that.”
Jamie, who had his final limb, his left leg, removed in July last year, said: “I was up and about almost as soon as I had my second prosthetic leg fitted in August.
“I took to it straight away. I was a bit wobbly at first, but it only took me an hour so to get used to it.
“The mind is your only barrier. A lot of people who need amputations in adulthood are quite scared of adapting to losing a limb. But I wasn’t scared or anything.”
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