The girlfriend of a man fitted with a £50,000 bionic penis has described their ‘magical’ first sexual encounter.
Andrew Wardle, 46, has a one-in-20million health condition called bladder exstrophy, which means he was born with no penis, one testicle and his bladder outside his body.
He suffered years of torment at school and turned to drugs in a bid to forget his health battle at the age of 18.
But in 2012 he and his long-term girlfriend Fedra were thrown a lifeline by doctors who built him a new bladder – and a new penis.
It wasn’t until June this year that the couple were given the go ahead to have sex.
Appearing on This Morning, Fedra described being able to have sex with Andrew as ‘the cherry on top’ of their relationship.
Andrew Wardle, 46 (pictured left on This Morning today) and his girlfriend Fedra (pictured right) have finally had sex after years of waiting for him to be given a penis by surgeons
She said: ‘We got there. We built it in a different way, in an old school way, in a sense.
‘He’s my best friend, my partner in crime and we got there in just under six years.’
The couple were going to go away to Amsterdam for their big night, but decided that would put too much pressure on the pair of them and stayed at home instead.
Fedra added: ‘It was really natural, it only lasted around 30 minutes. I was really nervous not to cause any pain, which is usually the other way around, isn’t it.
‘It was just really magical, because we know it so well, that was just the cherry on the top.
It was just lovely to make the next step and open that door, but it wasn’t forced.
‘It was a bit cheesy to go Amsterdam, we’re not that kind of people.
‘I’m not that kind of woman who puts a bow on herself and sits on the bed.’
Appearing on This Morning, Fedra (pictured on a trip to Amsterdam for Andrew’s birthday this year) described being able to have sex with him as ‘the cherry on top’ of their relationship
A diagram shows how Andrew underwent the third stage of his £50,000 phalloplasty – or penile implant – at University College London’s Hospital in June this year
Andrew, of Manchester, admitted it will take ‘around two years’ for his brain to create feelings of pleasure from a part of his body that has caused him years of physical and mental distress.
He told hosts Phillip Schofield and Rochelle Humes: ‘It’s still not quite there yet.
‘They say it will take about two years to link [his penis with pleasure].
‘When I used to think of it as a child, it’s just bullying, pure physical pain, mental pain.
‘So to link it with pleasure I think it’s near impossible, but I will get there.’
The pair suffered a further delay to building their new sexual relationship when Andrew fell seriously ill after they went to Amsterdam for his birthday a few months later in September.
Unconscious for five days, he initially thought he had pancreatic cancer before being told his liver was damaged, he was suffering gall stones and pancreatitis and he would have to have his gall bladder removed.
He told MailOnline previously: ‘I’ve never been through pain like that in my life – and I’ve been through some pain. I was terrified that I would be dead within the year.
Andrew, of Manchester (pictured on This Morning today) admitted it will take ‘around two years’ for his brain to create feelings of pleasure from a part of his body that has caused him years of physical and mental distress
‘Although I now know I’m not going to die, it still feels ironic that I am unable to have sex as I have to be really careful not to raise my stress levels.
‘Fedra and I are really keen to have children but obviously we’ve had to put that on hold until after the operations.’
Asked on This Morning what it was like growing up with his condition, he said: ‘It was horrendous. You link it with hospitals and operations.
‘When you get to 12 or 13 you think, ‘oh this is going to be bad,’ and I was right, it was.
‘When I was 18, I just hit the drugs and things got really bad.
‘But it’s fantastic what they’ve done at Harley Street and Westmoreland Street [hospitals]. It’s mind boggling.’
Surgeons in London used skin from Andrew’s arm and took nerves from his back and other places in his body to give his bionic penis sensation.
He had a ‘three-week erection’ after the surgery was finally completed, so all the new skin could be properly stretched.
Andrew is pictured in hospital in September after he fell seriously ill just a few months after having sex for the first time. The health scare was unrelated to his bionic penis
But afterwards surgeons gave him the green light to be intimate with his partner.
Asked what the operations have done for his mental health, he replied: ‘I can see a future now.
‘That’s why I used to take drugs, I couldn’t see a future.’
The couple say they will think about having children next year and will adopt if they can’t conceive naturally.
Andrew added: ‘We’re looking at that next year. I didn’t want to put pressure on me or Fedra. If not, we will just adopt.’
The 46-year-old said he wanted to document his journey in the media with TV appearances and newspaper articles to help others like him.
He said: ‘It helps a lot of people as well. People are going through it at Great Ormond Street at the moment. All they want to know is will it be okay.
‘When I was born it was 1973, there wasn’t the surgery then, but now there is. I do it to tell them ‘your kids are going to be okay.’
Urologist Dan Wood, of University College London Hospital, built Andrew a new bladder while David Ralph, a fellow urologist and specialist in genital reconstruction, created his penis.
He had his first operation to remove his urostomy bag – his urine had been diverted into a specially-converted stoma – in February 2014. He now has a Mitrofanoff – or catheter – to enable him to go to the lavatory.
Then, in November 2015, Mr Ralph operated on Andrew, building the penis from the skin, muscles and nerves in his left arm and the vein in his right leg.
He had his third operation last December, when Mr Ralph inserted the reservoir component of his penile implant into his abdomen and capped it off.
He and his team also sculpted the head of his penis. Then, in June, he was back on the operating table for two hours to have his phalloplasty completed.