Josh in marathon test after skiing accident
A 22-YEAR-OLD who broke numerous bones in his body following a skiing accident and only learned to walk again in May is to take on the London Marathon.
Josh Ziv, who was a derivatives broker at the time, was involved in a skiing accident in Courmayeur, Italy, in February 2023, which resulted in him breaking many bones - including all the bones in his face.
“I’ve skied since I was probably about four or five so I am a confident skier, but think I took a turn maybe too fast or had a lapse of concentration and fell off a cliff, which had a 20 foot drop,” Mr Ziv, who lives in Barnet, North London and now works in the property market, said.
“I broke virtually every bone in my face and then I broke my pelvis in a couple of places, and then my ribs and dislocated my shoulder.”
What ensued was a series of surgeries, beginning with a 12hour operation at a hospital in Turin in March 2023 – which saw three screws being put into Mr Ziv’s hip to stabilise multiple pelvis fractures.
This was followed by a facial reconstruction surgery, which consisted of a team of surgeons carefully removing large amounts of bone from his skull that were crushed beyond repair. These sections of bone were replaced with temporary titanium plates that held his skull together.
He had to learn to walk again using a Zimmer frame for six weeks and then crutches for roughly four weeks before he was able to walk the way he did pre-accident around May.
As he gears up for the London Marathon on April 21, he said he wanted to do something to mark the journey he has been through, even though he admitted he is not a massive runner.
“I think the thing that compelled me to do this was not being able to walk for so long and then being able to again, and then getting excited and wanting to challenge myself,” he said.
He said fitting in training around work has been manageable, but has not been without pain.
“I have screws in my right hip, but I find that when I’m running I get injuries on the left side of my body. which is overworking to compensate,” he said.
“However, it is very much enjoyable and I am having fun on my runs.”
Mr Ziv will be raising money for Changing Faces, a visible difference and disfigurement charity.
“After the first facial reconstruction, I definitely looked visibly different,” he said. “Coming back to London, it was tough beginning to see family and friends again and knowing you look different.
“Whether it’s your own paranoia, you always feel that people are looking at you as I had a shaved head and a big scar. I had my second surgery in London in June and I don’t look the same but they did an unbelievable job and I’m getting my confidence back.”