Our colleague and friend Derek Campbell passed away this week leaving his family and friends shocked, devastated and mourning the loss of one of lifes greater and unique people, Derek was one in a million. How do you sum up a man so full of life? You knew when Derek entered a room because it became brighter, happier and warmer. How do you truncate a life as vibrant and well lived as Dereks, how do you explain the essence of a soul so full of love, compassion and driven to help other people, a character that was larger than life, with a heart the size of the moon, a sense of humour that was funnier than a box of comedians and a soul with more compassion than a country and a twinkle in his eye brighter than any star and yet humble to the core. The truth is you can't. Derek meant something to everyone he met, the experience was unique to you and the depth of the relationship was different for each of us. Derek had a huge impact on everyone he met, whether you met him once or knew him for years.

I first met Derek back in April 2015 at the Advanced Rehabilitation Event in Roehampton after his amputations and he had a profound impact on me and has done ever since. I know that event changed his life because Derek told me it did. I also know that the surgeon Martin Griffiths who performed Dereks amputation had such an incredible influence and impact on Derek and changed the direction of Dereks life, as did the staff at Roehampton who Derek always spoke of so incredibly fondly (Dr Soori, Sarah, Maggie, Kate and Lisa, he thought the world of you all). I believe it was meeting other amputees, his LimbPower family and his homies (Gary, Stephen, Sandra, Gemma, Linda, Zoe, Bahman, Claire, Meva, Nichola, Im sorry if I havent included everyone) who had the most profound impact on Derek and helped him to become the incredible man he was. Because we knew Derek as an amputee, we often forget about his support network, his family, his eight year old son Zach who he thought the world of and loved so deeply, and who he was so so proud of, sometimes bringing him to events and his personal friends who were there for Derek. I have watched Derek grow, following and sometimes being a part of his incredible journey. Derek went from attending a few LimbPower events as a fledging amputee to volunteering at them, advising other amputees, to training to become a personal trainer, becoming a Physical Activity Adviser, a model and he was just about to embark on a course to become a climbing instructor going back to his roots as a tree surgeon. Derek was grateful, thankful to be alive and he wanted to make the most of his time. We talked on many occasions about his aspirations and his desire to give something back and to help other people, while growing and developing his own skills. We recently attended a training course together in Hammersmith on trauma resilience, we were in a room of psychologists, counsellors and Doctors and Derek held his own speaking with passion and Intelligence about his journey and his desire to support others. Derek had a natural ability to inspire, befriend and lead other people. I know this through his work at Roehampton. Derek mentored many people and had a profound impact on Romeo and Nick. Children loved Derek he just got them. Derek joined us as a rookie and left us as an elder statesman, a legend and an educator.

Life wasnt always easy for Derek and we should not forget that he had ups and downs and he never lied about the realities of being a double amputee, although he always weathered the storms with determination and a smile, sharing inspirational posts to life everyone else. Derek wanted to do so much more, it wasn't his disability that held him back it was his Disability Living Allowance, now PIP, a common problem for people with disabilities.

Derek gave so much of himself to other people and now we have a chance to give something back to show Derek and his family what he meant to us and the difference he made to our lives. We have created a crowd fundraising page for Derek's family to help with funeral costs and we hope that everyone who Derek had an impact on will help his family at this incredibly difficult time. Every penny raised will go to Derek's family (except the justgiving admin fees) LimbPower will not keep any of the funds raised.

I want to end with one of Derek's favourite quotes

'Allow yourself to be proud of yourself and all the progress you have made, especially the progress no one else has seen'.

Rest in peace D, your passing was such an incredible shock and you have left a gaping hole in our world. We will never forget your beautiful smile.