BRAVE REBEKAH’S DRASTIC BID TO BE MUM ‘I cut my leg off to have a kid’
BROODY Rebekah Lewis had her leg cut off for the chance to be a mum.
She was taking 70 tablets a day to cope with the pain of a crippling muscle disease.
But doctors told her the cocktail of drugs would stop her having the baby she longed for.
Rebekah, 39, relied on a disability scooter and would have not been able to adopt or foster because of her mobility issues.
So when a doctor suggested she have her infected leg amputated she agreed.
A year on, her motherhood dream is set to come true.
Rebekah said: “I’ve always loved children so I just assumed like most people that it would be doable.
“But I was struggling to even get around and I was on so many drugs and sedatives.
“Children just wer e n ’ t an option and it was FELICITY CROSS devastating. But the amputation means I will finally be able to be a mother.”
Her husband Rob underwent a vasectomy to protect Rebekah when she was told how dangerous pregnancy could be.
Now, eight years after they married, the couple are on the way to becoming foster parents.
As a child, Rebekah was often told off for her “funny walk” but doctors did not spot she had the rare disease dystonia until she was 23.
By then she had been forced to give up her job as an undertaker. She explained: “It caused my foot to twist and despite a series of painful operations and an endless list of therapies, it was too late.
“It was during that time that I met Rob online. Despite the fact I spent most of my time in a mobility scooter, we got married.
“We enjoyed our life together but there was always one thing missing, a baby. “The doctors warned the medication would seriously damage an unborn baby and I was devastated, so I resigned myself to never being a mum.”
Everything changed for the couple two years ago when a new doctor suggested she have an amputation.
In February 2016, brave Rebekah had the operation to remove her right leg below the knee.
Rebekah, from Fareham, Hants, said: “It was drastic, but I longed for an end to the pain and relentless medication, even if that did mean losing my leg.
“It wasn’t long before I was fitted with a prosthetic leg and for the first time in 16 years I was back on my feet.
“I cut out all the medication too – I only need a couple of mild painkillers.”
The best thing for Rebekah, a volunteer at amputee support organisation Moving Forward Portsmouth, is that her dream can now come true.
She said: “I still have bad days, so realistically emergency foster care for younger children and babies is the best option.
“We think that will be doable, and, as I was fostered then adopted, I’d like to give something back.”