Harry Britt is a mild-mannered motorcycle rider who has ridden his Harley Davidson all over the country, but his riding days almost came to an end on a South Carolina Saturday morning, October 5, 2013.
Britt and Boyce Hudson, long-time friend and riding buddy, headed out of Myrtle Beach on Highway 17 for Georgetown. After stopping for breakfast in Pawley’s Island, the two riders, riding one behind the other, pulled out onto 17. Unfortunately, an elderly lady from Charleston pulled out of a McDonald’s onto Highway 17 headed towards Wilmington. Not seeing the riders, she hit the right front side of Britt’s bike, bending the crashbar and pinning him to the motorcycle.
The impact knocked him unconscious with the bike lying on top of him and forced those who rushed to his aid to await the arrival of rescuers with equipment necessary to cut him loose from the motorcycle.
Upon regaining consciousness, he realized he was in a lot of trouble, with the bike on top of him and what felt like small explosions erupting inside his right leg and foot.
A Flight-for-Life helicopter transported Britt to Myrtle Beach/Grand Strand Trauma Center, where he spent four days in an induced coma, underwent two surgeries, and was released 21 days later to return to his home in Dallas. Once there, he spent months under a physician’s care for open wounds with his leg and foot in a fixator, the leg held together by 12 rods/pins.
Unable to walk, Harry underwent four major surgeries for foot ankle, and leg reconstruction at OrthoCarolina in Charlotte in an attempt to save his leg and foot.
Dr. J. Kent Ellington, a renowned surgeon in this type of reconstruction, performed all surgeries — with the final one October 9, 2014 to install a titanium rod and a new experimental cage around a section of the tibia. It had failed to have any new bone growth and/or fusion. These cages are patient specific and are constructed of materials known to induce new bone growth and add stability. Dr. Ellington is the first U.S. surgeon to use this experimental cage in this type of surgery.
From October 2013 through October 2014, Harry has undergone a total of six major surgeries in four hospitals across states. The cost: approximately $2 million.
Harry Britt said the other day that the wreck was a life-changer. “It was triumph over tragedy,” he said. “I would say to others, never give up. My right leg is three-eighths of an inch shorter than the other and I will always have to wear custom-made shoes and walk with a limp. I have accepted the fact that this was an accident and now I will move on with my life. That’s the way it is.”
He said the motorcycle has been put back together, “and it looks better than ever.” He rode it over Mother’s Day weekend with his two sons. Peter, 27, is an N.C. State Trooper in Harnett County. Paul is 30 and a guest-ranch activities director and river guide in Missoula County, Mont.
After these many trials and tribulations, what are his thoughts and feelings?
“I am much more aware of the needs of others,” he said. “So many people helped me. If not for the support of friends and family, and especially my wife, so many people took me in, I could never have made it”.
