AMONG all the gold medal victories and the amazing feats of physical prowess, one Olympic athlete is about to emerge in a category all of her own.
When South African swimmer Natalie du Toit takes part in the challenging 10km open water race – a merciless, long-distance swim against the sea as much as other competitors – she will earn the incredible distinction of being the first female amputee ever to take part in the Olympic Games.
The world’s eyes will be on her event in Beijing today as she lines up among the elite long-distance swimmers to follow her own sporting dream.
Incredibly, she’s achieved Olympian status even though her left leg was amputated after turning gangrenous following a motorbike accident in 2001.
She may be the first woman Olympian amputee, yet she is just one of an incredible number of people who have refused to allow their status to hold them back – from double amputee Rangers chief David Murray and feisty anti-landmine campaigner Heather Mills to meningitis survivor Olivia Giles and climber Jamie Andrews, quadruple amputees from Edinburgh who last year launched an organisation to supply prosthetic limbs to people in developing nations.
Among others who refuse to let disability hold them back is Ian Colquhoun, whose legs were amputated after he was attacked and set on fire and who believes losing his limbs has actually had a positive impact on his life.
“If it hadn’t happened, then I’d still be doing a mind-numbing job and generally having an unfulfilling life,” he says. “Apart from the obvious tragedy of what happened to me, what I’ve done since has more than compensated.”
As he came to terms with losing his legs, Ian discovered a talent for writing. Now his third book has been published, containing stories of nine amputees that he hopes might inspire others trying to come to terms with losing limbs.
He was in Dublin in 2002 when he was attacked while he slept on a friend’s couch. He faced an incredible battle for survival, only to wake up in hospital seven weeks later and find his legs and part of his hand had been so badly burned they had to be amputated.
He received vital support through the organisation founded 12 years ago by fellow amputee, Rangers’ chairman and millionaire businessman, David Murray. The football chief, who lost both his legs in a car accident, started the Murray Foundation after recognising the specific needs and support missing for many amputees.
Susan Shaw of the Murray Foundation says the organisation has around a dozen volunteers in the Edinburgh area able to support people who undergo amputation.
“We help in lots of ways, whether it’s giving people information or providing them with someone to talk to who knows what they’re going through. Some people are inspiring and go on to do great things but the reality is most people just want to be able to get back to a normal life, drive a car or work.”
Ian says: “Writing this book has been inspiring – it’s been fascinating to hear how others have got on with their lives.
“Just about everyone talks about how there has been a positive element in what has happened to them, so while it’s tragic to hear some stories, it’s been inspiring too.”
Half of the proceeds from his book, Nine Lives, will go to the charity’s funds.
“I hope the book can make a difference and show the bravery and determination of many amputees,” adds Ian.
Here two of the amputees featured in the book reveal how they have coped.
Keith FergusonHe’d already lost his left leg when he was only two years old – but Keith Ferguson looked forward with enthusiasm to the surgeon removing part of his other leg.
“It meant an end to the pain,” he explains. “It also meant I went into hospital at just 5ft 1ins, and I came out at 5ft 8ins!
“So it wasn’t such a bad deal.”
Losing his foot gave medics a chance to give Keith what he’d always hoped for – a bit of extra height. “They were able to give me a longer artificial limb – so I gained extra inches that helped boost my confidence enormously. My trousers were a bit short though,” he laughs.
Keith was born with a deformed left leg, which surgeons removed when he was a toddler.
“It didn’t bother me as a child until I went to school,” adds Keith. “Anyone disabled was put to a special school.
“I always felt I had to work harder and do more than the rest in order to try to prove myself.”
Nagging pains in his right leg caused problems. “There’d been surgery to increase the length of the leg, which hadn’t worked, and the lower bones in my ankle were giving me a lot of pain. After the amputation, I never looked back.”
Keith went on to work in logistics and to run his own business in the computer industry. He works now for the Murray Foundation as a counsellor, supporting fellow amputees and advising them on their rights.
“The only person who really understands what an amputee goes through is another amputee,” he explains. “Some people handle things well, others find it a struggle. There are those who go off and do amazing things like run marathons or whatever – and that’s fantastic – but most just want to get back to something like a normal life, to drive a car and have independence. I enjoy being able to provide them some help towards doing that.”
Richard Vallis“I’m 54 years old but my right leg is still just 12,” laughs Richard Vallis.
That he can smile at all is quite an achievement – after all, he holds the dubious ‘honour’ of having the highest level of amputation of a leg of anyone in Scotland.
And while losing his limb wrecked his business, destroyed his future work prospects and dramatically altered his way of life, it also ultimately saved him.
“I had bone cancer in my pelvis,” he explains. “The doctors spent two years trying to save my leg. Having it amputated was actually pure relief from all the pain and all the medication.
“The worst part was the actual physical pain involved in trying to save my leg.”
Richard was an active 38-year-old with his own tree surgery business when he started to feel pains in his leg. He ignored the nagging aches for nearly two years, by which time the cancer had spread.
“It was half way up the pelvis, right over the hip,” explains Richard, of Penicuik. “At one point I was given implants with an artificial pelvis, but there were all kinds of complications. The amputation was for the best.”
And it also saved Richard’s life.
He uses an artificial limb and can walk short distances with the aid of a crutch. “I avoid stairs if possible and rough ground is a challenge but otherwise I’m fairly mobile,” he shrugs. “The biggest problem is fatigue.”
The amputation ended his career as a tree surgeon. But it also opened him to a string of other opportunities.
“As one part of my life came to an end, another part started. I always wanted to try archery, now I’m coaching it.
“Importantly, it also meant I had much more time to spend with my son, Paul.”
Richard is a founding member of Scotland’s first drama group for actors with learning disabilities, the Lung Ha’s Theatre Company. “I’d seen the kinds of problems they face but I never imagined I’d find myself physically disabled. The only people who really understand the issues of being disabled are the disabled themselves.”
It’s not all been plain sailing, he says. “There’s been some frustration at not being able to do a lot of things I previously could.
“My personal philosophy is ‘allow for what you can’t do, but concentrate on what you can do’.
“And always listen to the ‘experts’. They will tell you what you can’t do – then just go and try to do it.”
Nine Lives is published by Piper’s Ash and is available on www.amazon.co.uk and from most book shops. Half of its profits will go to The Murray Foundation 