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The owner of an award-winning pie shop is raising money to help his father, who has had his leg amputated following severe surgical complications.

Alexandre Hancox, who owns Hancox’s Pies in Caerphilly, is originally from Portugal – where his father, Helder Moreira, was recently admitted to hospital due to an issue with his right leg.

Doctors discovered that the arteries in his leg had extremely limited blood flow.  

To resolve the issue, they attempted to remove an artery from his left leg and attach it to the right leg using a bypass. 

However, the surgery did not go as planned. By the following morning, the leg had rejected the artery, and the bypass ruptured internally. Emergency surgery was carried out to save his life, but within a week, the tissue in his foot and leg had died almost up to the groin. 

Helder was left in excruciating pain, and doctors were forced to perform another operation, during which his right leg was almost fully amputated on Thursday April 16. 

The wait for a prosthetic leg through the Portuguese national health system is estimated at one to two years, and significant adaptations will need to be made to Moreira’s home to accommodate his new needs.  

He will also require a mobility scooter and intensive physiotherapy to learn to walk again. Doctors say he will remain in hospital for at least 45 days as he re-learns basic daily tasks. 

Alongside a GoFundMe page, Alexandre is organising a fundraising event on Saturday July 18, at his business on Pontygwindy Industrial Estate. He hopes to sell 120 tickets, priced at £10 each, with 100% of the proceeds going towards his father’s recovery and wellbeing. 

“My family and I are doing everything we can,” Alexandre told Caerphilly Observer. “They are raising money in Portugal, and I am doing my bit to raise as much as I can here in Caerphilly.” 

Alexandre also highlighted the challenges of accessing essential equipment in Portugal: “It is much more difficult and expensive to get him what he needs, and that’s why we want to raise the money to help his recovery time become quicker.

“Another challenge is that it will cost £10,000 to £15,000 for a prosthetic leg if we go private, but his road to recovery will be far longer without that, both physically and mentally.”