US woman who opted to have legs amputated is now training to compete in PARALYMPICS

A sporty woman opted to have both her legs amputated after a disability left her wheelchair-bound - and is now training to compete in the Paralympics.

Taylor Layle, 22, was born with a condition called club foot which caused her feet to be turned in – which grew more and more severe over her teenage years.

By the age of 16, it reached a point where she had to begin using a wheelchair and eventually had to give up playing sports due to the pain.

Doctors warned Taylor that she would need corrective surgery, but despite several surgeries throughout 2017, the condition continued to worsen.

So over 2018 and 2019, brave Taylor bit the bullet and opted to have BOTH her legs amputated in a brave bid to get her active life back.

In 2020, she finally got the prosthetic limbs which would allow this to happen - and now she is training to be a Paralympic snowboarder.

Taylor, from Clemson, South Carolina, said: "I had a normal childhood and was very active, but I had no idea that my feet were breaking down.

"It got worse and worse - to the point that by the time I was 17, if I tried to stand or walk I would pass out from the pain.

Eventually doctors mentioned amputation - which was the only option left that might allow Taylor to one day live pain-free again.

Taylor agreed - and she underwent a below the knee amputation of her right leg in July 2018.

The following summer she had her second amputation - an equally difficult process - and she spent a long time in her wheelchair with no alternative.

She spent months learning how to use her prosthetic legs again and began running through a list of all her favourite things to do, and re-doing them with prosthetics.

This list included rollerblading, football, and ice skating - which she managed to do with ease.

Incredibly, after just a few months of snowboarding, she is now in training for the 2026 Paralympics in Italy.

"There are so many misconceptions about amputation - it can be a hurdle, but it doesn't mean your life is over.

"It's an obstacle for you to overcome and remembering what you can achieve if you push through it.

"I love where I'm at in my life now - my amputations have allowed me to live again."