Nicola Races Back to Health
Posted in July 2006

At 21 years old, Nicola Bauer was a promising undergraduate at Portsmouth University when a road traffic accident brought her education to an abrupt halt. The accident, in January 2000, resulted in multiple fractures including a grade II compound fracture of the left femur. The trauma was so severe that Nicola was initially told that she might face amputation. However, as part of her surgery, the fracture site was implanted with Stimulan® in an attempt to introduce an osteoconductive synthetic graft to augment the limited bone stock available.
 
Nicola then embarked on a two year rehabilitation programme to walk again, progressing from a wheelchair, to a frame, and eventually crutches and sticks before she could walk unaided. As her recovery continued she found the time to finish and successfully pass her degree, and recently completed a 10-mile charity run in aid of the professor and hospital which helped her back on her feet. Nicola has recently become a mother to a beautiful baby boy called Callum and currently lives in Nottingham with her partner David who she plans to marry next year.