Quadruple amputee who received Scotland's first double hand transplant takes on 500-mile journey
A quadruple amputee who was the first person in Scotland to have a double hand transplant is preparing to take on a challenging adventure.
Cor Hutton is going on a journey of a lifetime to raise money for her charity Finding Your Feet, which provides vital support to people who have lost limbs.
The 52-year-old, from Lochwinnoch, Renfrewshire, had her hands and lower legs amputated in 2013 after suffering acute pneumonia and sepsis, which nearly killed her.
She was given a 5% chance of survival, before doctors managed to perform life-saving surgery.
The single mum was fitted with prosthetic legs and, after five years of trying to find a donor that matched her own blood group, skin tone and hand size, in 2019 she successfully received pioneering hand transplant surgery.
Now that her hands are functioning close to 100%, she has taken on the challenge to hop on a scooter and travel a 500-mile route.
“I am an old-school biker,” she said, “and this will be a way for me to get back into it.”
Ms Hutton is also keen to pursue activities she enjoyed before she became unwell, and is deeply inspired by her hand donor and her selfless family.“I promised myself and them that I would live life to the full because to be given these hands is such an incredible gift, and the pain that the family goes through is never far from my thoughts" she added.
Ms Hutton will be taking on the open road with her dear friend Mark McLean, who will be keeping her company.
Although she's looking forward to the scenic route of Scotland’s most-visited attractions, the motorbike enthusiast was open about the hurdles ahead.
“My doctors tell me that I have 95% functionality in one hand and 75% in the other, which sounds great, but it’s still a massive effort for me to keep the muscles engaged for long periods of time.
“On the bike I’ll be working the acceleration, which will involve a lot of twisting the wrist, and the brakes, and the indicators".
Nevertheless she said she is determined to "show people you can get up and do the things you want to do.”
Adventures like this one are not new to Ms Hutton, she has already completed a long list of challenges including, the London Triathlon and becoming the first female quadruple amputee to climb Mount Kilimanjaro.
Ms Hutton, who received her third honorary doctorate this year, will be setting off from her charity’s premises in Paisley on August 22 and plans to complete the road trip in seven days.
The trip comes ahead of sepsis awareness month in September and World Sepsis Day on September 13.
You can donate to Ms Hutton's cause by visiting Finding your Feet.
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