A Fantastic Week On My Leg

I thought I would just share with you what I have been up to for the past week as I've reached some great milestones with my prosthetic leg that I purchased from the Blatchford clinic in Basingstoke. 

I purchased a new socket from Blatchford just before my trip to Spain. As I am still waiting for revision surgery, the NHS decided that they would not supply me with another leg until I was fully recovered. Adamant that I wanted to be up and running ASAP I approached the Blatchford clinic and within a few weeks, I had been fitted with a leg that was at least 10 x better than I had previously been fitted with. 

Last week, I was determined to get on with my leg. With my initial leg, I was completely unable to walk unaided for more than 1m. Despite this, I decided to 'bite the bullet'  with my new leg and go to work on my leg without any mobility aids - something that I have never done before. Fortunately, my full-time position is stationary but I had such a great day of just being able to get up and walk whenever I wanted. Walking into work unaided and with two legs was fantastic as it really made me feel 'normal.'

I spent this past weekend starting my journey to becoming an Army Cadet Force adult volunteer. As a familiarisation weekend, we spent a lot of time learning safeguarding and general information on the organisation however we also underwent some more physically challenging activities such as command tasks and constructing a basha (shelter). I wore my leg all day without problems and the other participants did not notice I was an amputee until I put my shorts on!

As the course ended at lunchtime on the Sunday, I decided to visit my best friend in London for the afternoon. I took the challenge to take my first real unaided trip. I walked from home to the station and then proceeded to walk around London with him, then walking home again without any problems. I had such a great time and really enjoyed just walking - It's strange how having 2 legs makes travelling around London a lot easier! 

As I begin to get used to my leg, I can't wait to see what the future can hold and before you know it, I'll be running! I've got a long way to go and ultimately, I am still waiting for surgery but it's a journey that I am so happy to be going through. 

Thank you so much to those of you that donated towards my fund and have been part of my journey so far. A huge thank you to the Knights Foundation for their help in my journey and the plans we have for the future. Your donations contributed heavily towards my current prosthetic and any future funds will be working towards my sports-specific limbs. If you would like to donate towards my cause and find out more information, please click here.