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| Alton Towers crash victim says bionic leg has transformed her life Alton Towers crash victim says bionic leg has transformed her life | |
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| A student who lost her leg in the Alton Towers rollercoaster crash says she has been given a new lease of life by a hi-tech prosthetic leg and that she is stronger for her harrowing experience. | A student who lost her leg in the Alton Towers rollercoaster crash says she has been given a new lease of life by a hi-tech prosthetic leg and that she is stronger for her harrowing experience. |
| Vicky Balch, 20, from Leyland, Lancashire, had her right leg amputated below the knee last June, weeks after the accident on the Staffordshire theme park’s Smiler ride, after seven rounds of surgery failed to save the limb. | Vicky Balch, 20, from Leyland, Lancashire, had her right leg amputated below the knee last June, weeks after the accident on the Staffordshire theme park’s Smiler ride, after seven rounds of surgery failed to save the limb. |
| A few weeks ago she had a new prosthesis fitted, which adapts to her movements. She says the effect has been transformative. | A few weeks ago she had a new prosthesis fitted, which adapts to her movements. She says the effect has been transformative. |
| “It’s a bit more natural. I have got a lot more energy so I can do a lot more things like go and see my friends, just do normal things that a normal 20-year-old would do,” she said in an interview with ITV’s Good Morning Britain. | “It’s a bit more natural. I have got a lot more energy so I can do a lot more things like go and see my friends, just do normal things that a normal 20-year-old would do,” she said in an interview with ITV’s Good Morning Britain. |
| “I didn’t know whether I would walk again. Obviously, I didn’t know whether I’d lose my leg in the first place and now, looking back, I know that if I kept my leg I’d probably still be in a hospital bed but I wouldn’t be walking at all.” | “I didn’t know whether I would walk again. Obviously, I didn’t know whether I’d lose my leg in the first place and now, looking back, I know that if I kept my leg I’d probably still be in a hospital bed but I wouldn’t be walking at all.” |
| Balch previously said that she “just wanted to die” as she waited hours to be rescued from the ride. But, 10 months after her ordeal began, she said she is determined to make the most of her life. | Balch previously said that she “just wanted to die” as she waited hours to be rescued from the ride. But, 10 months after her ordeal began, she said she is determined to make the most of her life. |
| We loved having @vickyj_b walk onto the GMB set with her amazing new prosthetic leg this morning@SusannaReid100https://t.co/Z5PSAPgd34 | We loved having @vickyj_b walk onto the GMB set with her amazing new prosthetic leg this morning@SusannaReid100https://t.co/Z5PSAPgd34 |
| She revealed that as well as the new prosthetic leg, there has been another significant change in her life – she has fallen in love. | She revealed that as well as the new prosthetic leg, there has been another significant change in her life – she has fallen in love. |
| “It [the experience] has made me a bit stronger and I know what I want to do now,” she said. “I know I want to make memories and do things with someone who loves me and I love them. I just don’t see the point of going out and not remembering a night out or something like that.” | “It [the experience] has made me a bit stronger and I know what I want to do now,” she said. “I know I want to make memories and do things with someone who loves me and I love them. I just don’t see the point of going out and not remembering a night out or something like that.” |
| When she woke up after one round of surgery she is said to have asked her mother: “Who’ll want me like this?” But she told New Day she had met 24-year-old clinical auditor Jordan on dating app Tinder and they had quickly fallen in love. “Jordan is really sweet and I just feel so comfortable around him,” she told the paper. “If I’m at home, I’ll just take my leg off and sit in my shorts, and he is so laid-back.” | When she woke up after one round of surgery she is said to have asked her mother: “Who’ll want me like this?” But she told New Day she had met 24-year-old clinical auditor Jordan on dating app Tinder and they had quickly fallen in love. “Jordan is really sweet and I just feel so comfortable around him,” she told the paper. “If I’m at home, I’ll just take my leg off and sit in my shorts, and he is so laid-back.” |
| The Genium X3 is billed as “the world’s most technologically advanced prosthetic leg” by its German manufacturers Ottobock, who developed it with the US military. It enables Balch to run and cycle as well as walk. But she said that things can go wrong, it can rub and cause pain, and despite her optimism, she has difficult times. | The Genium X3 is billed as “the world’s most technologically advanced prosthetic leg” by its German manufacturers Ottobock, who developed it with the US military. It enables Balch to run and cycle as well as walk. But she said that things can go wrong, it can rub and cause pain, and despite her optimism, she has difficult times. |
| “It’s not easy some days,” she told GMB. “I have really bad days but obviously everyone around me – and even people who I don’t know – support me so much I don’t want to let anyone down. I think I am scared of letting people down more than anything. So I think I want people to realise that no matter what you’ve been through you can still do whatever you want to, you can still follow your dreams.” | “It’s not easy some days,” she told GMB. “I have really bad days but obviously everyone around me – and even people who I don’t know – support me so much I don’t want to let anyone down. I think I am scared of letting people down more than anything. So I think I want people to realise that no matter what you’ve been through you can still do whatever you want to, you can still follow your dreams.” |
| She was asked during the interview whether she would go on a rollercoaster again. “I should say ‘no’ but I don’t want to let anything beat me,” she said. “I wouldn’t go on anything like that again, no way. My mum’s probably hating me for this, she’ll be having a fit, but I don’t want to say ‘no’ because I really don’t want to let it beat me.” | She was asked during the interview whether she would go on a rollercoaster again. “I should say ‘no’ but I don’t want to let anything beat me,” she said. “I wouldn’t go on anything like that again, no way. My mum’s probably hating me for this, she’ll be having a fit, but I don’t want to say ‘no’ because I really don’t want to let it beat me.” |
| Leah Washington, 19, from Barnsley, also had her leg amputated and another three people were seriously injured in the 2 June crash. Merlin Entertainments, which owns the theme park, promised compensation to all those injured. It is being prosecuted for breaching health and safety laws. | Leah Washington, 19, from Barnsley, also had her leg amputated and another three people were seriously injured in the 2 June crash. Merlin Entertainments, which owns the theme park, promised compensation to all those injured. It is being prosecuted for breaching health and safety laws. |