A woman chose to amputate her legs so she can raise children. The ultimate sacrifice led Rebekah Lewis, 39, to the decision after doctors told her the medicines she's taking for her condition and her mobility issues would render her unable to care for a child well.
Lewis, who hails from Hampshire in the U.K., has a muscular condition called dystonia. It caused her inverted foot as her muscles contracted and restricted her movements.
To manage dystonia, Lewis underwent eight operations and ingested 70 tablets daily for the pain. She also used a disability scooter which helped her get from one place to another but this limited what she can do.
"I was struggling to even get around and I was on so many drugs and sedatives," Lewis said, according to Daily Star. "Children just weren't an option and it was devastating," she added.
As advised by a doctor, if Lewis amputated her inverted leg, then she would be able to ditch the scooter and use prosthetics for better movement. "The amputation means I will finally be able to be a mother," Lewis said.
Lewis wouldn't, however, try to get pregnant but adopt a baby in foster care with her husband Rob Lewis, 47. The couple met when Rebekah was 26 but they would never have children. Rob decided to get a vasectomy so his wife could be spared from getting pregnant as it would be a big risk.
She was already 23 when she was diagnosed with dystonia even as she suffered from it through childhood. Lewis lived in foster care and her foster parents and doctors thought she was only seeking attention so she never got the treatment she needed earlier, per Daily Echo.
On February 2016, doctors operated on Lewis with much success. She has since gone through treatments and therapy for her prosthetics. Her medications were also cut in half after the amputation as she is primed for adoption.
"[I have] lived in awful pain and with a very limited movement for 16 years," Lewis said per Mirror. "I can honestly say that having my below-the-knee amputation has been one of the best things to have ever happened to me."
