Adaptive adventurist Nikki Bradley speaks with Sínann Fetherston about taking on the VHI Women's Mini Marathon on crutches.
At the age of 16, Nikki Bradley found a lump in her pelvis that was eventually revealed to be a tumor, leading her to be diagnosed with a rare form of bone cancer called Ewing sarcoma.
Although the Donegal woman has, thankfully, been cancer-free since this treatment, the radiotherapy led to severe damage to the bone in her right hip, leading her to spend 15 years undergoing multiple surgeries and battling infections to try and save her leg.
In 2021 she made the tough decision to undergo a rotationplasty - a surgery that sees the lower half of the leg removed, rotated 180 degrees, and re-attached.
Despite the many obstacles thrown her way, the young woman has spent years becoming an adaptive adventurist and inclusion advocate, taking part in physical feats such as the grueling 24km Fan Dance trek in Wales.
In 2013, she decided to set up an awareness campaign called Fighting Fit for Ewings which included many fun and physical challenges. Ten years later, she donned the iconic purple t-shirt and took on her first Vhi Women's Mini Marathon as one of the event's official ambassadors.
"Everyone I talked to about it just said, 'you need to just experience it, words can not describe it', and they were right," she smiles. "My mum and my sister came with me on the day and the atmosphere is just electric."
"Now, it wasn't a walk in the park," she admits. "It was tough going, and I think, with my pacing, I probably started a little bit fast, and I was struggling with my crutches on my hands towards the end - but that's when the atmosphere kicked in, made my adrenaline spike, and got me to the finish line."
This year, Bradley is set to return as an ambassador for the Vhi Mini Marathon on Sunday, June 2. Although she is counting down the days until the big event, she says there are a few "stumbling blocks" that must be tackled first.
As well as getting her stamina up, she must strengthen her upper body to accommodate her crutches as her recent prosthetic has failed to deliver.
A rotationplasty surgery is far from common on this side of the world, and Bradley says that she has struggled to find a good fit when it comes to prosthetics.
"It's been up and down, to be perfectly honest," she says. "I have a prosthetic that's basically an ornament in my room, and it's a hard reminder looking at that. At the same time, I'm still able to do everything I'm doing on my original prosthetic, which is a static leg."
As the name suggests, a static leg doesn't bend, which means that Nikki's foot can sometimes catch on uneven ground, meaning that she has to make an extra effort to lift it in places to avoid tripping.
"It's like a runner having to stop every couple of seconds to start again," she explains. "With fast movement on crutches, it's not just your legs that are moving, it's your arms, so you're knocked out of that rhythm."
"At the same time, I'm a woman who likes a challenge," she smiles. "It hasn't been fully smooth sailing but it's also been incredible in places."
This past March, Nikki hiked her way up Mount Errigal in Donegal, something she feared wouldn't be available to her with her current prosthetic.
"I was worried I wouldn't be able to climb with this particular prosthetic, but it just goes to show that you can assume a lot of things. It's only when you give it a go that you're proved wrong."
Despite her recent mountaineering, the adventurer insists she needs more time "out on the road" in order to get her strength up.
"It's your shoulder strength, your wrists, your hands," she lists, explaining that the only thing that makes the crutches more comfortable is more time using them.
"There's no amount of wrapping or foam or padding that works, and it doesn't matter if you use glue or anything, you will just end up pushing it out to the edge. And that's all you'll be thinking about as you're using them," she explains.
"The only way to keep your hands strong is to be proud of your calluses."
As well as being an ambassador for the race, Bradley has carved out a role for herself online as an inspirational figure for those who have undergone or planning to undergo roationplasty.
"When I initially started Googling that word, the images that I saw just absolutely terrified me," she says.
"Once I knew I was having the surgery, I almost simultaneously made the decision to be public with my journey because I don't want another girl, or another person in general, to Google the word 'rotationplasty', and see what I saw.
"If they see what I'm doing now, or they see that somebody has had the surgery and is doing the Mini Marathon or is doing a hike, it could be enough to maybe help them with that decision."
The Vhi Mini Marathon takes place on June 2. Click here for more information.
