Not to let losing his leg stop him was there for me when I lost mine
Trauma after crippling pain forced her to also have limb removed
– Valerie Murray
navigated adulthood with his prosthetic.
“After being teased in high school, I was quite shy and self-conscious. I was very nervous about telling Valerie but it didn’t faze her at all,” said Brian, 50, who works as an accountant in Annan and also captains
Scotland’s national Amputee Football Team.
“No one really knew I’d lost my leg until I started playing amputee football. Colleagues I’d known for years just thought I had a bad limp. Even when family came over, I’d rush upstairs to put my leg on before I answered the door.
“Valerie always told me not to worry about what other people think and has encouraged me to be more confident.”
Brian proposed to Valerie just three months after they met. And they were married at 21 in Annan and have two daughters, Leigh-ann, 25, and Shannon, 24.
While her family has been a huge support, Valerie says meeting recent amputees through the Scottish charity Finding Your Feet has been inspirational.
“There was a while where I thought I wasn’t strong enough to go through another operation but I received some lovely messages from the people at Finding Your Feet that gave me the strength to carry on.”
Brian will undertake the Meadows Half Marathon in Edinburgh on March 1 to raise money for Finding Your Feet, alongside the charity’s founder, quadruple-amputee, Corrine Hutton. “It’s going to be my biggest challenge yet as an amputee but I’m really determined,” said Brian.
“I’ve never really let this hold me back from doing anything. I’ll keep on pushing until I succeed.”
And Valerie will be cheering him on at the finish line, supporting him as always.