My name is Jane and I am 42 years old. I have been a triple amputee for nearly 25 years after contracting meningitis and septicaemia at the age of 17. I lost my right leg below the knee, my left forefoot and heel and all fingers and thumb on my right hand.
Luckily, I was referred to Dorset Orthopaedic for my limbs almost from the very start and I have been going there ever since.
Before children I worked as Head of Languages in a deprived inner London secondary school where I was instrumental in improving GCSE grades and pupils’ chances in academia and I now work for an exam board writing and marking exam papers.
In additional to being a teacher, I loved to scuba dive all over the world. During this time, I dived in the UK, the Seychelles, the Red Sea, the Bahamas, Zanzibar and the Maldives, which were all amazing places.
I now have two girls, aged 10 and 6, who keep me constantly active! They had me paddle and body boarding on our last holiday – I think I stood up for all of 3 seconds on the paddle board!
My passion is skiing and has been before I was ill. I love to ski with my family and we recently went to Val Thorens in France. I use a sit-ski and can comfortably complete red and most black runs but I am still working on those tricky black pistes! Here is a video of me skiing:
I am a keen open water swimmer and recently took part in the Dock2Dock 3km, where I came first for my age category – finally all the pool training paid off!
Whilst I have not allowed my disability to hold me back, I could not have the life I have without the support of my family and partner.
In the future I hope to keep up with my swimming and skiing and at some point, go back to scuba diving – probably when my girls are older and I have the energy!
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