Appeal to help grandmother walk again
A woman who has lost both her legs wants to be able to walk her grandchildren to school and play with them in the park.
Now family and friends of Mrs Lisa Fryer, 50, of the Hawtonville estate, Newark, have started a £4,000 fundraising campaign to buy her latex prosthetic legs to help her realise her dream.
Mrs Fryer underwent a double leg amputation a week after her 50th birthday earlier this year after fighting peripheral arterial disease, where a build-up of fatty deposits in the arteries restricts blood supply to leg muscles.
She is currently confined to a bed in her living room and frequently experiences phantom pain from her legs and feet, even though they are no longer there.
"I don’t go out because I don’t want people staring at me," Mrs Fryer said.
She said she does not want the prosthetic legs that are available on the NHS because they are metal poles and she would be embarrassed to go outside with them.
"My nine-year-old grandson, Cody, has been absolutely amazing," she said.
"He helps with everything I ask him to do and he makes it much easier," she said.
Family and friends have organised a series of events to support the campaign.
A family fun day, including cake sales, stalls, a bouncy castle, food and more will be held on Saturday, August 18, at Hawtonville Community Centre.
The event is free to attend and stallholders will be charged £10.
Among other events planned are a 24-hour football match, a raffle for a caravan with tickets costing £20, a fishing match, a dog pampering day, and a football keep-ups challenge.
Mrs Fryer, who has five grandchildren, said: "I am shocked by the support because I have never asked anyone for anything, but my family and friends and the community have pulled together.
"I am overwhelmed with the amount that is going on.
"I want to have legs I am proud of and be able to go outside and walk — and improve my quality of life.
"I want to walk my grandchildren to the ice-cream van at the end of the street, be able to take them to the park and push them on a swing.
"I want to be able to walk to school to fetch them and walk back holding their hands.
"I would be able to with prosthetic legs."
A friend, who has helped organise the events, said: "It is about getting recognition for Lisa and raising as much money as we possibly can for her.
"We would like to thank the amazing community spirit people have shown and just want it to keep going for her because she deserves it."
Mrs Fryer first had problems in her right leg eight years ago when she felt a burning sensation in her right knee.
It gradually got worse and she then had pain in both legs.
"It was like having a ten-tonne brick on each leg. I could only walk two or three steps and would then have to rest again," she said.
"I was wheelchair bound a lot of the time.
"Doctors cannot give me an answer as to why I have it and what caused it."
After having a stent — a small metal mesh tube that helps to keep arteries open and clear blockages — inserted, Mrs Fryer went back to hospital when she complained of having no feeling in her left leg.
"One of my legs was going to be amputated and they were going to perform bypass surgery on my other leg," she said.
"I was told the bypass would only prolong (the life of) my leg for just weeks or years, but it would have to be removed eventually.
"So I told the surgeon to take both of my legs off.
"I decided if I was going through it once I was not going to have to go through it again."
A JustGiving page total currently stands at more than £1,100.
To donate, visit www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/lisa-fryer
