A British Paralympian has undergone surgery to have her right leg amputated below the knee to reduce her pain in her foot and increase her quality of life.
Swimmer Alice Tai shot to stardom at Rio 2016 where she claimed gold and bronze medals while representing Team GB.
She went on to truly announce herself on the world stage in 2019 when she won an incredible seven gold medals at the IPC World Para-swimming Championships in London.
The 22-year-old was born with a club foot – known medically as bilateral talipes – and has been considering getting surgery for the last decade.
Doctors had advised her to wait until she had stopped growing before undergoing the procedure, hence the lengthy delay in her going under the knife.
But after missing the Tokyo Games last year due to an elbow injury, Tai says she realised that now is the time to have the procedure done.
"Firstly I'd just like to say that I am healthy, happy and thriving so please don't panic," she told fans in a lengthy statement on social media.
"Over the last few years, the pain in my right foot has worsened. Both of my ankles are fused and arthritic but my right one has always been more troublesome and (comedically) non-functional.
"The medical team who've been involved since the surgery are incredibly optimistic about my recovery. As am I!
"I know a lot of people probably didn't see this coming; very few people knew. I wanted to make sure the surgery was successful before sharing."
Tai was discharged from hospital on Wednesday morning after spending five days on a ward as she began her recovery from the procedure.
"I first asked my surgeons about the possibility of amputation in 2012," she continued in her statement.
"There were no more corrective surgeries that could give me significant mobility improvements whilst reducing pain.
"At the time it was agreed that amputation was an option, but that they'd rather perform it after I'd stopped growing. Since then it's never really left the back of my mind and I was just waiting on a good time to 'fit it in'.
"Last year I realised I was wasting time – if a better quality life was possible (crutch free, less likely to wreck my arms), what was I waiting for?"
