After leaving the London trading floor and travelling the world, Luke Tarrant set off on a motorbike journey from the USA to Antarctica, last year. His adventure was abruptly halted by a crash in Colombia that led to the amputation of his leg. After the crash, Luke contracted sepsis in hospital, putting his life at risk, but his story is one of resilience.
“I knew straight away I wouldn’t let this break me,” says Luke, from Bedford. “I knew it was going to be tough, but I was certain I’d get through it. I wanted to push through, and hopefully, my story can show others going through tough times that they shouldn’t let it derail them.”
Using his story for good
“My goal was always to lead an interesting life,” he says. “It’s been tough, but no one can say it hasn’t been interesting. I’m still pursuing my goals, doing exciting things, though perhaps in a different way now.”
Since the accident, Luke has gained a large following on Instagram, and he wants to capitalise on this exposure: “I’ve got a community online and hundreds of thousands of people are supporting my journey, and I hope to launch a charity. I want what happened to have a positive impact on my life and on other people’s lives. There are places where people don’t have access to decent prosthetics, or physio, so I would like to raise money to help people in these communities.”
He’s often approached by people who recognise him from Instagram, and many say his journey has inspired them to remain positive while facing adversity.
Luke acknowledges that his recovery hasn’t been linear. "I left the hospital walking with one stick and my prosthetic leg, but about a month later, I found myself on double crutches, using a wheelchair. It felt like a setback, but now I see it as part of the journey."
While Luke is positive by nature, there were dark times: “The worst time was when I first came home from hospital. I went back to my flat for a weekend, while I was still an in–patient and I couldn't get in my bathroom door in my wheelchair. I realised that I was disabled and life had changed, and it all dawned on me at once. That was a really tough time.
“But I came out the other side and realised it was not going to be forever. In tough moments, I refer to that old saying, ‘This too shall pass’, meaning you’re going to move through bad times and get to a happy place, but the happy times are not going to last, so you have to appreciate them before you have a tough time again. I don't let my disability define me.”
Music was a form of escapism for Luke: “I’d be in my hospital bed in Colombia while they were doing some terrible things to my leg and I would have my headphones in, blasting heavy metal just trying to disassociate from what was going on. But since I’ve come home, my main crutch, if you pardon the pun, is exercise. Even in hospital, I’d get down to the gym and do a workout despite the fact that I could barely move. My collarbone was, and still is, broken as well as my other leg. Everything just hurt. But I would get in the gym and do some sort of activity because it made me feel better.”
An exciting future ahead
Luke’s appetite for travelling did not wane after the accident. When discussing his plans, he says he would like to do another motorbike trip, explore more countries, and do some sky–diving: “There’s still so much I want to do when I'm back on my feet, but for now, it's still early days.”
Reflecting on what travel will look like now, Luke says: “I think it’ll be different, but I’m determined not to let it change the way I travel too much. It will look different in the sense that I’ll rely more on other people, but I don’t want the missing leg to be the thing that holds me back. I’m just going to have to slightly amend the way I do these things.”
What about finishing his USA to Antarctica trip? “I think it has to happen,” he answers. “It will be an interesting journey to get back on my bike. Maybe I will find it more stressful? Who knows. I need to go and just see how it feels.”
While Luke is looking forward to his future, he recognises that he will need to be patient. “My mantra in life and recovery has always been to attack it, head–on, to dive straight back into it. But patience has definitely been the biggest lesson I've learned during this journey, and it doesn't come easily to me.”
Luke‘s story is a reminder that even in the face of unimaginable challenges, it’s the choices we make moving forward that define us. He adds: “A few months ago, if you’d told me I’d crash my motorbike, lose my leg, and nearly die, I would've expected to be depressed,” he admits. “But really, you just get on with it. Now, I’m focused on how I spend my days and what I want to do with my time.”
