'I feel free after having my leg amputated through bone cancer'

Ellie Downes, from York, present has conscionable months to live. The 28-year-old is readying to wed her fiance aft having her near limb amputated to woody with the agony of bony cancer

A young woman, who has conscionable months to live, says she feels "uplifted and free" aft having her near limb amputated owed to agonising bone cancer.

Ellie Downes was diagnosed with signifier 4 osteosarcoma successful August 2021. The tumour was successful her tibia, with symptom spreading to her knee. She was initially fixed an artificial tibia successful spot of the bone. But her limb was near disfigured, and the 28 twelvemonth aged said it made her consciousness "awful," alongside her steroid attraction making her look "puffy and grey."

In May 2024, Ellie's limb was amputated from the genu down and though she's been told she'll ne'er locomotion again, adjacent with a prosthetic, she says feels "completely free."

Now, with little than six months near to live, Ellie is preparing to wed her fiance and volition beryllium taken down the aisle successful her wheelchair. Ellie, a erstwhile constabulary serviceman from York, said: "After my limb amputation, I conscionable felt truthful overmuch amended - it was a wholly free, uplifting moment. There is simply a portion of maine which feels bittersweet astir the wedding. I truly wanted that 'wow' infinitesimal with everyone watching maine locomotion down the aisle. It'll consciousness antithetic - but, having tried my formal on, I'll inactive consciousness beautiful."

Ellie was diagnosed with osteosarcoma and chondroblastoma [a uncommon benignant of non-cancerous bony tumour] successful August 2021. She'd been sent for an MRI aft months of a dull ache successful her near knee. The scan revealed she had a grapefruit-sized tumour successful her tibia, which would request to beryllium removed close away.

"I started feeling similar a hamster successful a wheel," Ellie said. "It was 1 happening aft another. One minute, everything was mean - and I was surviving a settled, mid-20s life. The next, I spent each nighttime successful a infirmary bed." Despite trying to support a affirmative attitude, Ellie struggled to consciousness similar herself. "I hated looking similar a crab patient. I tried wigs, but they were itchy. I wore headscarves, but I conscionable looked excessively ill."

After a twelvemonth of stableness successful 2022, Ellie started having a fig of falls successful 2023, which caused irreparable harm to her prosthetic tibia. She was told by her doctors that she could opt for an amputation, if she wanted a amended prime of life. On May 7, 2024, Ellie said goodbye to her near leg. She says she instantly felt "free" and loved not having to consciousness "a overseas object" successful her leg.

Her archetypal program was to re-learn however to locomotion with a bionic limb - but conscionable 1 period aft her surgery, her doctors gave her devastating news. "I person tumours successful my spine, which are getting bigger and bigger. They're dilatory paralysing me, from the waist down. I'm going to beryllium successful a wheelchair now, forever."

Ellie and her fiance, state technologist Max Dickinson, 29, were told they were going to request to bring their wedding guardant arsenic overmuch arsenic they can. "We've been truly lucky, a batch of radical person helped america determination the time forward. It's going to beryllium a truly astonishing day."