A WOMAN who survived a rare cancer and had her leg amputated is fundraising for a prosthetic leg which she says would change her life.
Jade Tyler said she cannot remember what it feels like to walk without pain.
The 27-year-old from Hove was diagnosed with Ewings Sarcoma, a form of bone cancer, when she was just 14.
She underwent two-and-a-half years of chemotherapy and chose to have a new trial surgery to remove a tumour, which was successful - but the procedure also damaged the bone marrow in her leg.
Jade, a manager at Lucy and Yak clothes shop in Kensington Gardens, said: "I've had a really long journey with my mobility.
"Over the past 12 years I've had about 15 different surgeries to try to save this leg.
"In 2009 that initial procedure was new, they had never done it before.
"I was fortunate in that it got rid of the tumour, but my bone just did not recover. My leg was held together with metal plating at the time.
"Since then I've been in and out of wheelchairs, on crutches and taking strong pain killers, and have had many surgeries.
"I've not been able to walk without pain since my early teens."
In 2019 Jade was referred to a specialist, and having endured more than a decade of chronic pain, she made the difficult decision to have her leg amputated.
Although Jade now has an NHS prosthetic leg, she is not fully mobile and still suffers with pain.
She said: "Because my leg had a lot of trauma before amputation, my prosthetic leg is not quite what it should be.
"I'm unable to fully lift the weight of it without pain as it is much heavier than my leg was, as I had a lot of muscle wastage.
"I can't run on it or bend the ‘ankle’ part at all, and I can't get it wet – it's only really designed for shorter term use.
"The most frustrating part is I still can't even walk without crutches or for long periods of time as my bone rubs against the liner.
"What I have now feels really heavy and more like a weight I'm carrying around, rather than something that's part of me."
After nine months, Jade decided to get a quote for a prosthetic leg from a private clinic in London.
With the right equipment, she was told she could be walking, swimming and even running within a weeks, with a lightweight prosthetic leg that is tailored to her, with more ankle flexibility and a more comfortable silicone liner.
But the leg costs about £9,000 and would need replacing every three to five years due to wear and tear.
Jade said: "It took me a long time to decide to do it privately as I almost had this subconscious guilt about it. I decided to set up a crowdfunding page.
"It would be amazing to raise £20,000 as that would set me up for the next 15 years or so, but even just to have enough for the first leg would be incredible.
"They are also making me a running blade which is not available on the NHS.
"I'd just be able to do normal things like leave my flat for a coffee and not be in pain, or be able to walk my dog Ripley at the park myself.
"All my life I've really wanted to roller blade and having that bounce in the ankle would allow me to push off and skate.
"It would be life-changing."
Jade has so far raised almost £10,000 and hopes she can have a new prosthetic leg by the end of the summer.
To donate, visit Jade's GoFundMe page.
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