When 75-year-old Dave Richards woke up after a horrific cycling crash, he didn’t recognize the man in the mirror.
A drunk driver had smashed into him, trapping him beneath the car. “I felt the engine burning through one side of my body,” he recalled. “The other side was crushed.” Doctors told him he was lucky to be alive.
The crash left him with devastating burns — his eye, nose, and part of his face were gone. But Dave refused to give up. Surgeons removed his damaged eye and used skin and tissue from his neck to rebuild what they could. Then came something no one expected — a 3D-printed face, the first of its kind in the NHS.
“It’s strange at first,” Dave admitted, “but it gave me confidence again. People see me now, not my scars.” Using cutting-edge scanning and printing, doctors recreated his natural skin tone, hair, and bone structure — restoring not just his face, but his spirit.
“I’ll try anything that helps me live again,” he said quietly.
Technology gave him back what tragedy took away — his reflection, his dignity, and his smile. ❤️
