'DICKY ARM' Dad who lost his penis to horrific blood infection becomes first man in the world to have a new one built on his arm. He was even given an extra two inches by surgeons — but a series of delays mean he has lived with it on his limb for four years
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Malcolm MacDonald, 45,, a mechanic, is desperate for his £50,000 NHS-funded
appendage — which he has nicknamed “Jimmy” — to be finally transferred
to where it should be.
But he can still see the funny side of having it dangling from his
arm and is in awe of the medics who helped turned his life around.
He said: “Of course it is mad - having a penis on your arm.
“Not even I am used to it. But when you think about it, it’s actually amazing.
“That they can make me a new penis at all is incredible - but that they can build it on my arm is mind-blowing.
“It looks like something out of a weird sci-fi comic. But it’s my chance at a normal life.
“It’s been the first step towards being able to go to the toilet and even being intimate with someone.”
Malcolm was shocked when a long-term perineum infection spread to his fingers, toes and penis, turning them black.
And he was left “completely gutted” when his manhood fell off one fateful day in 2014, though his testicles remained intact.
Malcolm recalled: “I had struggled for years with an infection in my perineum but I had no idea what could happen.
“It spread to my fingers and toes and turned them black.
“When I saw my penis go black I was beside myself.
“It was like a horror film. I was in a complete panic.
“I knew deep down it was gone and I was going to lose it.
"Then one day it just dropped off on to the floor.
“Because I had been through the devastation of knowing I was going to lose it, I just picked it up and put it in the bin.
“I went to the hospital and they said the best they could do for me
was to roll the remaining stump up like a little sausage roll. It was
heartbreaking.”
Separated dad-of-two Malcolm, of Thetford, Norfolk, then became a recluse who started boozing heavily.
He recalled: “For two years after losing my penis I felt a shadow of a man.
“My life really fell apart because I had no self-confidence.
“I drank too much. I didn’t see family and friends - I just didn’t want to have to face up to it.”
Malcolm’s GP then told him about the “penis master”, Professor David
Ralph, an expert in phallus construction at London’s University College
Hospital.
Prof Ralph famously created a “bionic penis” for Andrew Wardle, who was born without one.
Excited Malcolm was given a referral and recalled: “It gave me a glimmer of hope that I could go back to being a normal bloke.”
Prof Ralph explained the arm-graft procedure, and told him it would take up to two years, which Malcolm was happy with.
He was then delighted to get funding — as it was motivated by being
able to go to the toilet properly rather than for sexual reasons.
He said: “It was all my Christmases at once. I was so emotional because it was a chance at a new start.
"I wasn’t worried about the procedure because I had seen what Prof Ralph and his team could do.
“As far as I was concerned, they were miracle workers and I was up for anything that could give me my willy back.
“Not having a penis felt awful. It’s most men’s worst fear. For me I
was never worried about sex, because I already had two children.
“It was always more about my self-confidence and simple things like using the loo.”
Malcolm discussed with the surgeons what his new penis would look like, and requested another two inches.
He said: “They were happy to listen to what I wanted it to be like,
which was amazing. Not many can say they have a designer penis.”
Surgeons chose the arm for building the new penis due to its skin quality and sensation.
Right-handed Malcolm then had a skin flap taken from his left arm and
rolled to form a “penis”, with its own blood vessels and nerves.
Surgeons created a urethra and installed two tubes inflated with a hand-pump, allowing him to have a “mechanical” erection.
The shaft was then detached from his forearm, leaving the base,
allowing it to dangle. It then could form naturally as skin and tissue.
Malcolm said: “When I saw it on my arm for the first time I was so, so proud.
“After everything I had been through it didn’t feel weird at all - it was just a part of me.
“I was like any other man, I just couldn’t leave it alone to begin with. I thought it was the best thing ever.
“I took to it so much I nicknamed it ‘Jimmy’ - that was what me and
my mates called each other growing up and this penis was definitely my
new mate.”
Malcolm says he had to wear long-sleeved tops and shirts when out to
hide his bizarre “bulge”. However people sometimes spotted it — so he
made fun of it.
He said: “People ask me about it when they see me in the pub - and of course people make jokes.
“But I get it. It’s not every day you see a man with a penis on his
arm. Of course I see the funny side - I have to. I don’t have any other
option.
"If I couldn’t laugh at the willy on my arm I’d be finished.
“When people see the bulge in my sleeve I say it’s my dictaphone.
That might seem a bit weird - but nowhere near as weird as having a
penis on your arm.”
After two years, as the doctors had said, it was finally ready to be “hung” in 2018.
But he was unwell at the time of the operation and it was postponed.
He then missed a string of appointments due to transport and
scheduling mix-ups, and a staff shortage last December led to another
11th-hour postponement.
The op was due to go ahead again in April, but got the axe when the Covid-19 pandemic hit.
He said: “The delays have been hard to deal with. For one reason and another the final operation has never happened.
“There have been scheduling mix-ups and transport issues getting me
to London. I was in my surgical gowns once about to go into the theatre
when they said there was a shortage of medical staff.
“Then they cancelled again because of the coronavirus. It feels like I’m cursed sometimes.”
Malcolm hopes to have it finally grafted properly between his legs by the end of the year.
He said: “It really feels like it is time to get it off. I can’t run
because it waggles about. I can’t go swimming or wear a short-sleeve
shirt.
"I can’t lie, having a penis on your arm for four years is a really strange thing to live with.
“But I am determined this penis will be ultimately used for what it was built for.”
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