We talk a lot about courage in sport, but this word doesn’t do justice to our next winner. She is simply superhuman. Our Special Recognition Award winner is Corinne Hutton.
After falling ill with pneumonia in 2013, Corinne Hutton contracted life-threatening sepsis and was given a 5% chance of survival by doctors.
To save her life, surgeons had to amputate both hands and her legs below the knee. Corinne, who was a single mother, underwent rehabilitation and learned to walk unaided on prosthetic legs after four months. During that time, Corinne noticed a lack of support for people who have been through amputation, and just weeks after her surgery, she set up Finding Your Feet .
The charity aims to reduce the social isolation that many feel after experiencing amputation through peer support and sports activities.
From helping just five people in 2013, today Finding Your Feet helps more than 500 amputees in Scotland. In five years the charity has raised more than £700,000 to fund clubs and activities such as swimming, Pilates, skiing as well as peer support groups and vital counselling.
Corinne has also set three world records, including becoming the first female quadruple amputee to reach the summit of Mount Kilimanjaro and Ben Nevis. She has also abseiled down a multi-storey building and took up skiing and ballroom dancing.
In January 2019, she underwent a 12-hour procedure to become the first Scottish person to receive a double hand transplant. She is now able to write and drive.