Cut off my leg so I can run faster’: says sporty teenager Danielle Bradshaw


  • Danielle Bradshaw, 15, has the condition developmental dysplasia
  • Meant her right leg was effectively useless and she relied on a wheelchair 
  • Decided in 2010 to have the leg amputated and was given a prosthetic limb
  • Enabled her to take up sport and she developed a love of running
  • This has caused strain on her ‘good’ leg, causing pain and slowing her down
  • Now wants left foot – which has deformed toes and severe tendon damage – removed so she can run with two prosthetics and compete at paralympics 

By
Anna Hodgekiss for MailOnline

1

View
comments

A schoolgirl who had one leg amputated for medical reasons is now begging surgeons to cut off her other leg – so she she can run faster and compete at the paralympics.

Danielle Bradshaw, 15, decided to have her right leg removed in 2010 after a congenital disorder left it useless.

The teenager was then fitted with a prosthetic limb, meaning she could abandon her wheelchair and start enjoying sports for the first time in her life.

Danielle Bradshaw, 15, had her right amputated for medical reasons four years ago. She is now begging surgeons to cut off her ‘other’ leg, which is causing her medical complications – so she she can run faster and compete at the Paralympics

She started sprinting on an Oscar Pistorius-style running blade – but says the strain on her ‘good’ leg is now causing her constant pain and slowing her down.

She now wants her left foot – which has deformed toes and severe tendon damage – removed so she can run with two prosthetics and achieve her dream of competing in top-level paralympic events.

Her stepfather Darren Quigley, 53, said: ‘We always thought the good leg was good and that was it, but in the last two years it’s taken a lot of strain.

‘She’s taking daily medication, wearing ankle and knee braces and even has a plate under her knee to support her. It’s all slowing her down.

‘Danielle just wants to run and won’t let anything hold her back – not even her foot.

‘She will be a paralympian one day, but she needs this procedure to improve her times.’

Miss Bradshaw, from Tameside, Greater Manchester, was born with developmental dysplasia of both hips and a dislocated right knee.

The condition meant her hips would frequently dislocate and her right leg was unstable.

At two months old, doctors cut tendons in her leg and operated more than 12 times in an attempt to improve her quality of life.

But despite their best efforts, she was forced to rely on a wheelchair and was only able to get out with the aid of crutches. 

At just 11 years of age, Miss Bradshaw shocked friends and family by begging doctors to remove the crippled leg so she could fulfil her dream of taking up athletics. 

Miss Bradshaw (left) pictured with the paralympian Oscar Pistorius, says the strain on her ‘good’ leg is now causing her constant pain and slowing her down

The teenager was born with a condition called developmental dysplasia of both hips and a dislocated right knee – meaning she had to rely on a wheelchair before her ‘bad’ leg was amputated 

    Comments (1)

    what you think

    The comments below have been moderated in advance.

    The views expressed in the contents above are those of our users and do not necessarily reflect the views of MailOnline.

    Find out now