Craig Mackinlay, the first “bionic parliamentarian” due to amputation of his 4 limbs

Craig Mackinlay, a British Conservative MP, received a standing ovation on his return to Parliament last Wednesday, May 22, 2024, seven months after suffering an amputation of his hands and legs due to septic shock.

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Craig Mackinlay was rushed to hospital last September after suffering sepsis, a very serious complication of an infection that can cause organ failure, which caused him to 16 days in an induced coma before all four limbs were amputated in December.

The disputed described his return as an “emotional day”, apologizing for breaking parliamentary rules by wearing sneakers, as His shoes did not fit his prosthetic feet properly, and for not wearing a jacket because he could not adapt well to his new arms.

In an interview with the BBC, the 57-year-old MP, who describes himself as the first “bionic parliamentarian” due to his prosthetics, He explained that the night of his hospitalization he went to bed early, thinking he had just caught a cold.

Then his condition worsened overnight and his wife called emergency services.

Half an hour after admission to the hospital, his body “turned blue,” a side effect of septic shock the deputy explained.

After 16 days in an artificial coma, with chances of survival estimated at 5%, he was transferred to a London hospital, very close to Parliament.

The deputy hardly remembers it, but the discussions that took place around him about his limbs do come to mind, which had turned black and rigid.

On December 1, 2023, the operation was carried out to amputate his four limbs.

When he woke up, he discovered his new body wrapped in bandages.

“They managed to save (their limbs) up to the elbows and above the knees. So you could say I’m lucky,” he said.

The deputy, elected since 2015, then received prosthetics for his legs and hands.

MacKinley explained that he continued working as a deputy from the hospital bed, beginning his re-education.

On February 28, Five months after his septic shock, he began to take his first steps without assistance.

The parliamentarian wants to raise political awareness about sepsis, which causes every year around 48,000 deaths in the UK and plans to run again for his constituency of Kent (southeast England) in the legislative elections scheduled this year.

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