Corinne had pneumonia and the Streptococcus virus was running rogue, which led to blood poisoning. Sepsis took hold of her body at an alarming rate of knots. Within two hours of collapsing at hospital, her organs were shutting down one-by-one. \u00a0Her family were called. Her life was, in effect, slipping away. However, a last minute decision was made to get Corinne on an ECMO machine \u2013 a unit used to keep patients alive whose heart and lungs are seriously impaired. The closest one at that time was in Leicester.<\/p>\n
A cavalry of doctors and nurses were flown up along with the ECMO machine. By the time they got there, Corrine had deteriorated badly. The consultant believed she was too far gone for treatment, but decided there was nothing to lose by giving it a go. She was plugged up to the ECMO and flown by air ambulance to Leicester.\u00a0 The bad blood was taken out, cooled, oxygenated, toxins removed and run back into her body. To everyone\u2019s amazement and relief, her body responded.<\/p>\n
What followed was three weeks of astounding progress. She became the wonder girl of the wards. She was taken off lifesaving machines; she learned to eat and breathe again and gained strength. However, her hands and feet were slowly turning black. In saving her vital organs, her extremities had been sidelined \u2013the circulating blood did not get there in time. Despite her body fighting back ferociously and Corinne making a truly remarkable recovery, she was eventually told that both hands and both feet were to be amputated. It\u2019s was a devastating blow. Dark days followed but her tight-knit family and friends were there to support her.<\/p>\n
A significant milestone post surgery was having her brothers break her out of hospital to take her son to his first day of school. Corinne was able to feel like a mum again. This was the best medicine. A thought sparked, \u201cMaybe I am<\/em> allowed to be someone.\u201d<\/p>\n Corinne tells us that she used to think of wealth as something that could be bought, like a sports car, new house or a swanky kitchen. She no longer believes this. The support she received from friends and family \u2013 among them lawyers, doctors, psychologists, fitness experts, mavericks and motivators \u2013 is the support that kept her believing that \u201cYes, she could\u201d. This, she tells us, is true<\/em> wealth. \u00a0She wanted to share her newfound wealth with others like her who had suffered unexpected trauma in their life. From here her charity \u2018Finding Your Feet\u2019 was born.<\/p>\n Two or three weeks after her operations Corinne told her dad, \u201cI\u2019m not going to be disabled, Dad. Whatever I could do before, I\u2019m gonna do again.\u201d And boy has she done that… and so much more. She has set three world records including becoming the first female quadruple amputee in history to conquer Ben Nevis. She has learned to fly a single engine propeller plane, abseiled off a multi story building (with no hands) and was chosen to carry the Commonwealth Games baton. She was also the poster girl for the NHS organ donor campaign; she saw herself beamed onto buildings across London wearing nothing but body paint in an attempt to raise awareness of the issue. It is an arresting image.<\/p>\n None of this is done with any ego attached and you get the impression she doesn\u2019t much like speaking about her achievements \u2013 in telling us about them she is funny, warm and self-deprecating. What shines through, however, is her burning desire to make a difference to others and to set the best example for her 7 year old son. Her brother Davy says of her, “It\u2019s strange, when Corinne lost half her body, she became twice the person.”<\/p>\n In 2017, Corrine completed the London triathlon. This year, she has set her sights on Kilimanjaro.\u00a0What she has achieved in five years is nothing short of incredible. When talking about Kili, she is visibly nervous.\u00a0 Corrine has no ankles, no Achilles heel that enables the foot to bend up and down, which is what a fully functioning pair of feet would do when climbing a mountain. Corinne is effectively trying to climb Kilimanjaro on stilts. The sores she sustained on Ben Nevis were bad. Her legs and stumps became incredibly painful.\u00a0 But with one simple phrase, she diffuses her own jitters. She looks at us and says, \u201cSurely it\u2019s better to try, right?\u201d It\u2019s so simple, so moving and so inspiring. I will store this moment and recall it whenever I begin to think, \u201cWhat if I can\u2019t?\u201d<\/p>\n Please like and follow Finding Your Feet on facebook right now if you want to follow their progress. Discover how you can join in from home, or how to make a donation – please click\u00a0here<\/a><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.advertizer.co.uk\/insight\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/Corrine_Insight-225x300.jpg\")
Isolation is a huge problem for many amputees.\u00a0 It has been proven that quality of life and even life expectancy is greatly reduced without social inclusion, with as many as 30% of vascular amputees not surviving to one year post amputation \u2013 a horrifying statistic. Finding Your Feet are key in addressing this issue.\u00a0 They run over 50 clubs per month in Glasgow, Dundee, Aberdeen, Edinburgh and Leeds free of charge.\u00a0 These include swimming, skiing, climbing, gardening, crafting, pilates, fitness and their most popular \u2018Ampu-teas\u2019 session where the \u2018Troopers\u2019 meet up for a coffee and chat. They have an in-house counsellor who sees Troopers for 1:1 appointments as well as group Mindfulness sessions.\u00a0 There is also an online support forum which offers peer support for amputees around the UK and beyond.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.advertizer.co.uk\/insight\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/Corrine-Hutton-Organ-Donor-Campaign-web-200x300.jpg\")
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Corinne has scaled mountains real and metaphorical that many of us can only imagine. I think she is probably the most inspiring person I have ever met. Whatever happens on Kilimanjaro she has proven time and time again there are no limits after limb loss.<\/p>\n