Stevenage PE teacher who lost a leg in Storm Eunice injury is determined to do charity walk for NHS

  • Watch a report by ITV News Anglia's Elodie Harper

A PE teacher from Stevenage who had her leg amputated following an injury in February's Storm Eunice has been called "remarkable" by the team who helped her to walk again.

Lauren Cooper's left leg was seriously injured when a wall in her garden collapsed on her during the storm.

She was taken to Addenbrooke's hospital in Cambridge, where her leg had to be amputated below the knee.

Lauren, 31, started physiotherapy at Lister Hospital in Stevenage to learn to walk again using a new prosthetic leg.

She said: "Immediately, my independence was completely removed. It's probably taken quite a few months to gain back a bit of my independence.

"Obviously without a leg you literally are learning to everything again."

Lauren Cooper works with her physiotherapist as she trains for the charity 5km fun run

Her progress has astounded the medical team; she is walking again, she has returned to her old job as a PE teacher 2 days a week and now wants to take part in a charity 5km.

Her physiotherapist, Matt Alexander, at the Lister Hospital was in awe of her determination and exceptional attitude.

He said: "This isn't something that most of our patients would be capable of doing at this point in their recovery.

"Lauren's a little bit ahead of the game and she's very motivated to push and challenge herself."

The charity event that Lauren set her sights on was the Rainbow Run on Sunday 2 October, organised by East and North Hertfordshire Hospitals' Charity.

The aim of the fun-run was to raise money for hospitals within the East and North Hertfordshire's NHS Trust.

The challenge is huge but Lauren has been very serious about her preparation and has a lot of support.

She said: "We keep an eye on how many weeks we've got left until the actual run, and I'll be walking it not running it.

"We talk about the distance I'll be able to walk at the moment, it's a conversation I have with the physio a lot."

Lauren has documented her journey since Storm Eunice on her Instagram page ‘limbitless road to recovery’ where she writes, 'Stubbornness, determination & a sheer love of netball will get me through.'

Want a quick and expert briefing on the biggest news stories? Listen to our latest podcasts to find out What You Need To Know: