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A bride who had her leg amputated earlier this year says she feels "wonderful" after her wedding, where she was able to dance with her new husband.
Amy Peterson, 32, from Barming, has type 1 diabetes and over the last four years has had all her teeth removed, fallen into a coma for five days after a cardiac arrest, and in April, had her right leg amputated below the knee.
On Halloween, last Sunday, Amy and her fiancé Ben, 39, tied the knot after five years together at Archbishop’s Palace, in Maidstone, and celebrated with a spooky reception at The Fox Pub, in Barming.
Amy wants to share her happy day with others who have suffered health problems, to give them hope.
She said: “I know quite a lot of people who have been in hospital, there was a lady next to me that had an amputation a couple of months ago.
“I want them to know there’s a happy ever after.”
In 2017, Amy had a cardiac arrest and fell into a coma at Tunbridge Wells Hospital for five days.
Doctors warned that she would have brain damage when she woke up, and wouldn’t be able to walk or talk again. However, she defied their predictions.
When she woke up, Ben was holding her hand and she did not realise how many days had passed. Four months later, she had all her teeth removed after repeated infections in her gums.
Asked how she felt about the operation, Amy, of Whitnole Street, said: “I don’t really get conscious of my looks. I am not a girly girl.
“I have always looked at life that there’s always someone worse off than you.”
Her leg was amputated at Medway Maritime Hospital after an infection developed from an ulcer on her foot, which began impacting her kidneys.
Antibiotics to prevent the infection, given through a drip, did not work.
She says she has come to terms with the operation, but gets frustrated as she can’t get up the hill to her home by herself.
She travelled up the aisle in her wheelchair, which she had decorated with a fake cobwebs and other Halloween themed decorations.
But she was able to stand at the altar with Ben, using a stool to rest her leg upon.
Later, using a stool, the couple were able to share their first dance, and Amy also danced with her dad.
Asked how it feels to have married Ben, she replied: "It feels wonderful".
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