Mum-of-two fundraising for new prosthetic leg

Louise Munckton hopes to be able to take her children to Lapland if she raises enough money for her new leg

A woman who had her leg amputated as a teenager is raising money for a new prosthetic leg which she has said would give her a better quality of life.

Louise Munckton, from Weston-super-Mare, said a rare genetic condition meant she could not put her right foot flat on the floor as a child.

She had her first operation at 10 months old and eventually her leg had to be amputated below the knee at the age of 19.

Now in her 40s, she would like to replace her "too big" NHS-prescribed leg with a more comfortable leg costing £15,805, which she said would allow her to do activities such as running.

Louise was 19 when her leg was amputated below the knee

The mum of two said she was in and out of hospital "three or four times a year" as a child.

"I was schooled, pretty much, at Bristol Children's Hospital," she said.

"Every time they tried really hard to find out what was going on, what was causing my foot to elevate onto tiptoes."

Throughout her childhood, Mrs Munckton said she broke her foot, had pins inserted, used a walking frame, and was in and out of a wheelchair.

At the age of 18, she said she was unable to walk.

'Absolutely liberating'

She said: "My foot just said: 'That's enough'.

"I could not walk another step and from that point, I was back in a wheelchair."

Doctors gave her the option of amputating her foot or using a wheelchair for life.

She chose to be operated on, and when she woke up from the procedure Mrs Munckton said she felt she had been "born a different me".

"The first thing I said to my mum is: 'It's over now'," she said.

"It was absolutely liberating."

The foot Mrs Munckton has (left) and one similar to what she would like (right)

While Mrs Munckton said she is grateful for her NHS prosthetic, the toes are joined together, and she is unable to wear certain kinds of shoes, such as flip-flops.

"It is very heavy to walk on and can be very uncomfortable some days to just walk around," she said.

Mrs Munckton said she hoped to raise the money for a transtibial prosthetic leg with separated toes, which would fit her better and allow her to do things like running and learning how to ski.

"I’m grateful to walk so I can get from A to B, but I just want to live my life like everyone else and feel comfortable, confident doing it," she said.