Amputee dreams of Paralympics after losing leg in motorbike accident
An Essex rider who lost a leg in a motorcycle accident last year is making a “remarkable recovery” and getting back in the saddle.
Kerry Waters, 30, crashed her bike on 27 June 2014 on a country lane. Blinded by sunlight she swerved into a ditch and sliced her leg on a telegraph pole’s wire support.
She was taken in an air ambulance to St George’s Hospital in Tooting, London where surgeons were forced to amputate her right leg above the knee.
Ms Waters was then transferred to Southend Hospital for recovery and rehabilitation and, although is still having treatment, has made a remarkable recovery.
“In under a year Kerry is up and walking and has even returned to work as a dental nurse, she is a very inspirational person,” said friend Claire Forcer.
Kerry has ridden since she was two, worked on an Australian stud farm when she was younger and competed at local shows.
She has ridden friend’s horses since the accident with the help of a wooden leg, made by her grandfather, but, she said, it is “not ideal”.
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“It’s only for balance, what I need is a prosthetic leg,” she told H&H.
She has now been talking to a company in Dorset that makes custom made prosthetic legs but they cost nearly £60,000.
So far she has raised £10,000, but after the accident, Kerry gave £4,500 to the East Anglian Air Ambulance, which saved her life.
A series of fundraising events are being organised and friends have launched a campaign on social media to help Kerry ride again.
“I want to save up as much as I can and get back into the saddle as soon as possible,” she said. “I’m going to join the local RDA group and became classified for the Paralympics. My dream is to take part.”
A friend of Kerry’s will be running the Spartan Race to help her ride again. Find out more and sponsor her: http://www.gofundme.com/k15css
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