From amputation to world champion
My name is Andrew and this is my story. Two years ago, I had to make the difficult decision to amputate my lower left leg. I had injured it badly in a motorcycle accident 17 years earlier, and could no longer live with the pain that 14 operations had failed to rectify. I was having to take huge amounts of painkillers to function, something needed to change. I had already discovered a passion for pole sport, although my leg was getting worse. After the decision was made, I was so happy to go ahead with the operation 2 years ago. It worked well for me and I was soon walking on a prosthetic. I came across the IPSF world pole championships, they have a para pole division, so I decided to enter. I first took gold in Holland in 2019, then went on to the finals in Canada where I not only took gold, I was awarded male athlete of the year out of 28 countries and both able and disabled competitors. I recently entered another competition, pole theatre UK, where I would compete against able-bodied polers in an artistic presentation, telling the story of recovery after the operation. I won again!!
Competitions have been canceled this year due to Coronavirus, but watch this space, more to come!! I’m telling my story to show that a life-changing situation need not be an end to your goals and passions. It could be a new beginning!
