Weston-super-Mare mother-of-two is raising funds for a new prosthetic leg

A woman whose leg was amputated as a teenager is raising money for a new prosthetic leg that she says would give her a better quality of life.

Louise Munckton, from Weston-super-Mare, said a rare genetic condition left her unable to place her right foot flat on the ground as a child.

Her first surgery was performed when she was 10 months old and eventually her leg had to be amputated below the knee when she was 19 years old.

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

The mother of two said she was in and out of hospital “three to four times a year” as a child.

“I was trained virtually at Bristol Children’s Hospital,” she said.

“Each time they really tried to figure out what was going on, which caused my foot to stand on its toes.”

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

At the age of 18, she said she couldn’t walk.

She said: “My foot just said, ‘That’s enough’.”

“I couldn’t walk another step and from then on I was back in a wheelchair.”

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

She decided to have surgery and when she woke up from the operation, Ms Munckton said she felt like she had been “born a different me”.

“The first thing I said to my mother was, ‘It’s over now,'” she said.

“It was absolutely liberating.”

While Ms Munckton said she was grateful for her NHS prosthesis, the toes were connected and she was unable to wear certain types of shoes, such as flip-flops.

“It’s very hard to walk on and some days it can be very uncomfortable just walking around,” she said.

Ms Munckton said she hoped to raise the money for a prosthetic lower leg with separated toes, which would fit her better and allow her to learn to do things like walk and ski.

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