Outlander star Sam Heughan has generously donated £2,000 towards a fundraiser for a Scots Hollywood stuntman to help pay for surgery after he suffered a horror leg injury.
Charlie Allan, 61, who has performed in battle scenes in major Hollywood productions, fell 15ft whilst building a home gym in Dumfries and has been left unable to walk more than a few feet or perform every day tasks after two blood clots formed behind his left knee.
A crowdfunding effort was set up to raise £25,000 for life-changing surgery – which caught the attention of Outlander star Sam, who plays Jamie Fraser in the smash hit series.
He has now generously donated £2,000 towards the Go Fund Me drive.
Charlie, chief executive of the Clanranald Trust – a charity promoting Scotland’s culture and history through battle re-enactment company Combat International at Duncarron Medieval Village in the Carron Valley – said : “What a guy!”
Explaining the events leading up to the horror injury, he said: “I was working at home building my gym and I was building access in to the gym and was between the banking and the access – because it is two storey – there’s a 15-foot drop and as I stepped off the platform, my left leg buckled under me.
“It was horrendous – the noise would’ve made anyone cringe.”
He tore ligaments in his knee, causing it to swell dramatically. To try and alleviate his pain, Charlie took some anti-inflammatory painkillers.
However, unbeknownst to him, the anti-inflammatory he administered to himself thickened his blood – that combined with the injury created a blood clot which exacerbated his condition.
He then tried to push through the pain and carry out his normal daily activities and his condition slightly improved.
However, whilst at a country fair near Drumlanrig, Dumfries and Galloway, around five days after the accident, he was pushing 16-month-old son Bran in his pram when his calf seized up.
The following day his leg began throbbing, leaving him in agony. He attended at A&E who referred him back to his GP for further investigations.
Just a day later Charlie’s foot had turned white and become numb, with his GP unable to find a pulse in his left leg and he was immediately rushed to Hairmyres Hospital, in East Kilbride.
It was there he was told that he had “come in three days too late” to treat it. Medics there had hoped to operate on Charlie, but just 24-hours later they had a change of heart.
Charlie then returned back to his GP who arranged a further consultation to carry out a vein graft to correct the issue.
However, they were unable to do that after discovering that he had previously suffered from deep vein thrombosis (DVT) in his right leg, where the graft would have come from, a number of years prior. That meant the graft would not be able to go ahead.
Charlie’s wife, Chara, then began researching on the internet and she discovered surgeons abroad who can perform a procedure, not available via the NHS, known as a Endovascular Thrombectomy – that would involve inserting of a catheter into an artery and guiding it up through the blood vessels to the site of the blocked artery.
But the treatment comes in at an eye-watering £25,000.
“I can’t even run after my wee boy,” Charlie added.
“He’s running around now and I find that quite hard. I can’t walk far, I can’t run and I’m frightened to do any training at the gym.
“I had a job down south with DC Comics, but I had to pull out of that.”
He hopes to have the surgery in Hungary or Germany if the fundraiser hits its target.
The crowdfunding effort was set up by a long-time friend of Charlie’s, Randy Dedrickson from the Trust’s US operation. Charlie was initially hesitant about opening a fundraiser requesting help before reluctantly agreeing to it.
The Trust has in recent years sent members to take part in a host of blockbuster film and TV productions where they offer up expert advice on anything from period dress and armour to weaponry and battle re-enactments.
Charlie and the re-enactment team have performed in battle scenes in Outlander, Gladiator, King Arthur, Robin Hood, The Eagle, Valhalla Rising, Thor II, Snow White and the Huntsman, Transformers 5, Norsemen, Outlaw King and Rise of the Clans.
After filming Gladiator, Charlie struck up a friendship with A-lister Russell Crowe, who starred in the lead role of the 2000 epic. Crowe later donated a huge battering ram prop that had been used in the production of Robin Hood to the Trust.
To donate towards Charlie’s treatment, click here
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