Queensland mum finds sport again after 13 years of medical issues

A woman who hobbled around on a broken foot for years before it was finally amputated reveals how she was able to return to her love of sport.

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A woman who hobbled around on a broken foot for years before it was amputated reveals how she was able to return to her love of sport.

Ainsley Hooker’s grandfather was in the air force and she grew up listening to his stories.

“He always said that the only thing he never flew or drove was a tank so he needed one of the family to join the army,” she told news.com.au.

Her grandfather unfortunately fell ill but Ainsley always treasured those memories so after leaving high school she got a apprenticeship and joined the reservists.

But, when she got to basic training she fell in love with it and joined full time. Not too long after getting to basic training Ainsley was taking part in an obstacle course.

“I’d just come out of a hole of muddy water, absolutely loving it, and got to the rope swing. I swung over and just landed wrong,” she said.

Ainsley was in the army for six years. Picture: Facebook

Immediately, she knew it wasn’t right but she pushed through to finish before going to the nurses who were waiting. Injuries weren’t uncommon during this exercise.

She explained what had happened and they said it was a bad sprain – something Ainsley had never experienced before.

Ainsley continued to serve as a driver in the Royal Australian Corps of Transport Corp in the Australian Army.

Her ankle never healed and so she went to a doctor who told her she'd torn all the ligaments in her ankle so she’d need to have surgery on it.

“Around the same time, I had just married and fallen pregnant,” she revealed, saying the timing of that and the surgery meant she couldn’t experiment on the ankle and put it to the test.

She was medically discharged from the army and thought her ankle was fine. She even began to work as a personal trainer for six months.

Ainsley has also competed at Invictus Australia events. Picture: Supplied

But it was during this time her ankle gave out and she was walking on the outside of her foot. Doctors believed that in her first surgery many of the blood vessels and nerves were cut to help fix all the ligaments so that damage meant she wasn’t in a lot of pain.

She had another seven-hour surgery and they realised there was nothing to be done about that damage so they attempt to twist it back out so that it was straight.

There was still a 15 to 20 degree angle on her foot so she was required to wear an AFO brace to keep her ankle in place.

The damage inside of Ainsley’s ankle unfortunately meant the blood supply was limited and her foot was deteriorating.

“So it got to a point where my brace was designed to support all my weight through my knees to try and keep my foot lasting longer.”

Ainsley was rejected by 14 surgeons who she asked to look at her ankle before a 15th decided to inspect her foot and ankle. The specialist told her there weren’t enough bones to fuse her ankle together. Her only option was amputation.

She was shocked and it took a few years for her to come around to the idea, as she wanted her life back but she was unsure if she could live without a limb.

She competed at the Invictus Games in Germany in 2023. Picture: Supplied

But it got to the point where she was frustrated – she couldn’t even walk her kids to school. Her knees were shot and she was looking at having both knees replaced. She was living her life in a brace. Everything in her lower body was “out of whack”. She decided it was time to get the amputation.

Ainsley was required to see a counsellor as well as meet with a rehabilitation centre to make sure she was mentally and physically prepared for how her life would look following the surgery.

“All those years of dragging it around looking back at it now and I think ‘Why didn’t I do this sooner? Why didn’t I figure this out a lot sooner?’ For 13 years I dragged around a dead limb,” she said.

Ainsley was in hospital for 10 days – two of which she spent in the rehab clinic. For months she strengthened her thighs before practising walking for 20 minutes using a set of bars and a plastic prosthetic. She graduated to not using the bar anymore and then was tested trying out different terrains.

Shortly after Ainsley’s amputation the world shut down with Covid. She couldn’t go out for a walk and her mental health was deteriorating. She’d been recommended to see an exercise physiologist after leaving rehab but she was self-conscious about her appearance.

Ainsley discovered a personal trainer she knew had qualified as an exercise physiologist and was working at Mates4Mates in Townsville, so she reached out and the woman organised for the pair to have the place to themselves.

She was the one who helped Ainsley get back to sports. Ainsley had loved sports since she was little. She joined nippers and every team sport her school offered, from touch football to soccer. The exercise physiologist encouraged Ainsley to take part in a wheelchair rugby league competition that was run at the facility. From the first tackle, she immediately fell in love and soon was also doing training sessions twice a week in addition to playing.

Ainsley also met another amputee who helped her feel comfortable with her new appearance.

Ainsley and her family. Picture: Supplied

In 2023, Ainsley took part in the Invictus Games, which is an international sporting event for wounded, sick or injured armed forces personnel whether they are veterans or still serving.

She always loved to throw things and tried her hand at shot put and discus, learning that because she was a seated thrower it also meant she was classed as a seated runner.

“I‘ve met some amazing people and I loved being back in that defence environment,” she said.

“When you leave the military, you don’t have someone telling you what to do. You don’t have a uniform to put back on. You don’t have any of that. So you sort of sit there going, what do I do now?

“Some people are lucky they fall into amazing job afterwards. Some of us, like me, I was injured I couldn’t do anything. So I just went down and down and down.”

But being back surrounded by liked-minded people gave Ainsley a renewed sense of purpose.

Ainsley wanted to bring her husband and father along to watch, but sadly her father, who introduced her to sports, passed away following a heart attack the year before. But her husband got a lot out of it and even plays wheelchair rugby with his wife now.

Invictus Australia, which works with the Australian Defence Force, also hosts more local events, meaning her children Luke, 11, and Isabelle, five, also got to see her compete in their home country.

She was over the moon to be able to share that moment with them.