Video – Chris Weidman Walks Unaided Following Horrific Compound Fracture Suffered In April
Former UFC middleweight champion, Chris Weidman has posted a video update as he continues the rehabilitation process of his right leg after he suffered a brutal compound fracture in April at UFC 261 in Jacksonville, Florida.
The Baldwin native clashed with two-time foe, Uriah Hall at the pay-per-view event, and within the opening eighteen seconds of the first round, suffered a ghastly compound fracture of his right leg, after he saw an early leg kick attempt partially checked by the Spanish Town native, resulting in the shattering of his right tibia and fibula.
Undergoing a surgical procedure the following morning, a titanium rod was placed in Weidman’s right leg through his right knee, in an attempt to realign his fibula. After the successful procedure, Weidman returned home with his wife, where he has provided updates as he begins his road to recovery.
Posting on his official Instagram account this afternoon, Weidman posted a video of himself walking from his kitchen at home without the aid of a boot nor crutches, describing the moment as a “big day” in his recovery process.
“I’m walking on my own,” Weidman posted. “Big day baby!! Thanks for all the love and support. Inspired by you all! #recovery #walking #comeback #theallamerican #thankyouGOD“
This latest update follows a video shared by Weidman which included him walking on an anti-gravity treadmill, as well as using a concept rowing machine, as well as incorporating leg raises into his regime during a physical recovery session.
It’s a sizeable step on the road to recovery for Weidman who had previously shared his concern about the possibility that he would require amputation of his right leg, following prior surgical complications in the past involving his thumb, which was replaced with a piece of his hip bone when it started to lose blood flow, and eventually die.
“I was pretty scared about this pain because I’m thinking about the worst-case scenarios,” Weidman said. “Worst-care scenario is that the blood supply doesn’t come back to my bone and doesn’t tale which would mean possible amputation. I had that happen to my thumb after I fought Kelvin Gastelum. I had surgery for a ligament that tore after throwing a left hook on him and then about eight weeks after surgery they realized that the blood supply to that bone, it was such a concussive shot that the blood supply wasn’t coming back. So they have to take my whole bone out and put my hip bone inside there because the (thumb) bone was just deteriorating and dying. So if that happened to my shin bone, my tibia, and fibula, I don’t know what would happen. Amputation, prosthetic leg, all that stuff.“
“So that (scenario) scares me and I’m praying and I’m positive it’s not going to happen but that’s a possibility,” Weidman explained. “I spoke to a doctor about it and actually tibia’s have the worst percentages of healing properly after surgery. It’s not a bad percentage, it’s like percent, but that’s scary.“
Weidman’s former-foe and fellow former middleweight champion, Luke Rockhold received some notable criticism during the course of last week, after he reacted to his former rival’s leg injury, claiming that the fracture could be down to the fact that Weidman has “feminine shins“.
“I wish him (Chris Weidman) all the best,” Rockhold said. “That’s (the injury) a tough one. I don’t know what it’s like to have those little feminine shins. I don’t know. Because I broke mine, first kick of the fight, but somehow (it) didn’t break. Just that strong.“
