When our children were young, we lived in North Wales and were friends with a couple whose children were the same age as ours. Both families went to the same church. Our friends’ eldest daughter Sara did very well at school and was accepted to study medicine in Liverpool, but things didn’t work out as she expected. Sara’s story is very moving and powerful.

“I was born in Bangor, North Wales and in my early childhood lived in different parts of England, moving with my Dad’s job. When I was seven, we moved back to Wales and I then enjoyed a very happy, rural childhood living with my parents and my younger sister in a small village called Caeathro, near Caernarfon. I had severe asthma as a child and was in and out of hospital, which gave me the desire to become a doctor so I could help others like the hospital staff had so often helped me.

I was offered a place at Medical School in Liverpool, but during my second term I was taken ill with meningococcal meningitis and septicaemia. I became very ill very quickly and was soon in intensive care on a life support machine with multi-organ failure. The septicaemia had also caused the circulation to my feet to stop, so 10 days into my illness, as a last resort, the doctors took the very difficult decision to amputate both my legs below the knees. I was in a coma for 6 weeks then woke to the news that I had lost my legs, and life would never be the same again. Although it was a time of fear and uncertainty about the future, I knew deep within my heart that I had been kept alive for a reason and that gave me the courage and peace I needed to accept what had happened to me and want to live my life again.

As I look back now, I can see how God was working through it all, because as a 14-year-old I had put my trust in Jesus to be my Saviour. I had been living far from God, but by dying on the cross Jesus took the punishment I deserved and gave me forgiveness and the promise that He would never leave me nor forsake me. In my darkest hours when the doctors couldn’t give my parents any hope for my survival, He was there; when the odds were stacked against me, I knew I had to trust His plan and purpose for my life. God can use the worst things that happen in our lives to bring us nearer to Him and teach us precious lessons.

I have now been an amputee for 40 years. It has not been easy, but God has been faithful and helped me face the challenges of each day. God enabled me to complete my medical training and to work at Alder Hey Children’s Hospital in Liverpool. I’m married with two grown up children. I’ve learnt to count my blessings; I make the most of what I can do and enjoy, rather than focusing on the negatives and what I have lost.”