Stafford author Jared Hughes shares his story in new memoir “Getting Legless”

Chris Shepherd
Mar 4
2 min read

A Stafford man has released a new book about his health journey, and he hopes it helps other people going through hard times.

Jared Hughes says he was diagnosed with stage 5 kidney disease after a routine blood test in 2022. He says his kidney function was just 3%, and doctors told him he could have died within two months if it had not been found

Man with prosthetic legs standing in front of parked cars. He's wearing a green jacket, gray shorts, and a cap. Trees in the background.

Why Stafford is home for Jared

Jared was born in Dudley in 1977 and grew up mainly in Wolverhampton. He moved to Stafford in 2001 after getting married and starting a family, and he has lived here ever since.

He is a dad of four and says he worked most of his adult life as an IT consultant for a company based in Telford. He also says he enjoys Wolverhampton Wanderers, Formula 1, and anything car related.

From diagnosis to learning to walk again

Jared says that after starting dialysis, he began suffering severe pain in his lower legs. He was later diagnosed with arterial disease, which he says was linked to his kidney disease not being found earlier.

He says doctors tried procedures to save his legs, including an angioplasty and an arterial bypass. Both later failed and Jared had both legs amputated below the knee.

Jared says he then spent over a year doing physio to learn to walk again using prosthetic legs. He says he can now walk short distances unaided and uses a rollator for longer distances.

Bald man in a black shirt smiles, holding a book titled "Getting Legless" with a phoenix on the cover. Neutral background.

The book and what is next

Jared’s memoir is called Getting Legless. He describes it as honest, but with plenty of humour, and says the book has been getting five star reviews.

He has also shared that he is on the transplant list and still has haemodialysis three times a week at County Hospital in Stafford.