Counselling
Heather’s personal experience of having lived through the massive shock of a traumatising accident and her well documented positive attitude to her recovery, bouncing back so strongly as an amputee to lead a richly rewarding life has put her in a position to help others that need support during their own tragic experiences. Heather is living proof of what can be achieved after life has dealt such a crushing blow.
Heather’s personal counselling has enriched the lives of many individuals that have lost limbs and suffered under the immense stress of terrorist atrocities, natural disasters and road accidents such as Heather was the victim of over fifteen years ago.
To women that have lost limbs in an accident and are frightened of their future or have said that they feel that they are somehow no longer attractive to the opposite sex, Heather is a picture of health & womanly confidence.
Heather has a unique insight and affinity with those who themselves have lived through such a tragic experience and has the rare ability to instil enthusiasm and positive thinking into others, leading by example. Shunning the quite negative ‘prepare for the worst’ approach offered to her by some professionals during her recovery Heather was determined not to let the loss of her leg stop her from doing all of the things she loved and her speedy return to the Ski slopes and Modelling was testament to her success. She was even determined to do a sky dive, one of her life time ambitions. Having all the important goals in sight helped Heather push herself to the limit with a steely determination.
Heather voluntarily counsels people from around the world who have lost limbs in accidents, through illness, natural disasters and terrorist atrocities. In India after the EARTHQUAKE disaster Heather organised a campaign to help amputees of this terrible atrocity and visited the bedside of many Indians that had lost limbs after this disaster. Those she counselled spoke little English, but this was no barrier to communication. Once Heather removed her prosthetic leg to the surprise of many patients and their families a unique rapour was generated and the mood lightened.
Heather is very relaxed about her leg and encourages families to overcome any fears they may hold of viewing or touching the residual limb of an amputee by encouraging family members to give highly beneficial massages that improve circulation and perhaps more importantly help them to overcome any initial fear they may have of touching or viewing their family members amputated limb.
Heather is able to understand the feelings of many patients she visits and is able to express this understanding. The presence of an individual that has been through a similar injury and continued to lead a richly fulfilling life gains the confidence of the survivors and their families encouraging the organisation of attainable goals often transforming dispirited feelings and replacing them with feelings of a positive life-asserting nature.
Heather speaking of her experiences in India
"The first person they introduced me to was a ten-year old boy, Dilip Pranji who had lost his left arm through the shoulder. A piece of farm machinery had fallen on him during one of the after shocks in his village, 50 miles from the nearest hospital and his family had carried him all the way. 
He was still in shock and looked at me numbly when I sat on the bed, but when I took his hand and got him to touch my artificial leg, his face changed."
"When I took it off so we could compare our amputated limbs, he softened and got really interested. Even the doctors seemed impressed. They'd become used to well-known faces at the hospital, but none of them had come up with a party trick quite like mine."
Heather is able to offer the kind of practical advice that can come only from someone who has lived through tragedy. By the understanding of those that she is able to visit personally she puts herself in the clients shoes and expresses that understanding.
The idea of the amputee forum on this website was inspired by just this sentiment and many individuals now share their vital information, offering advice and support gained through their own personal experiences helping those in need of guidance, who then go on to help others in the future in a wonderfully rewarding reciprocal way.
Designed as a helpful resource for amputees over 4 years ago, now the amputee forum has become one of the Internets most respected and active forums helping amputees and their families get good advice whenever they need it. With over 60,000 active posts and over 1000 registered members the forum provides a wealth of information and help making this resource one of the most valuable on the web for amputees.
READ ABOUT HEATHER'S MEETING WITH TILLY LOCKEY AND HER INCREDIBLE STORY
