RIPA Helene

Classification
KL3 (canoeicf.com, 10 Aug 2021)

Type of Impairment
Limb deficiency (Athlete, 07 Mar 2014)

Origin of Impairment
Acquired (Athlete, 07 Mar 2014)

Impairment Details
Her right leg was amputated above the knee in 1986 after she was diagnosed with cancer. "When I was 14, I had problems with pain in my right knee. It was not so bad at first, but the pain and swelling got worse and worse. After about six months I was referred to hospital, where it was discovered that I had cancer and my leg was amputated. I had no chemotherapy or radiation, just Interferon intramuscularly once a day for five years, as well as blood tests and chest X-rays once a month for the first year and later more often. I was declared healthy after 10 years." (Facebook page, 24 Aug 2016; Athlete, 07 Mar 2014; handikappidrott.se, 02 Feb 2014)

General
POSITIVE POSTPONEMENT
In 2019 she required surgery on a herniated disc, and so if the 2020 Paralympic Games in Tokyo had gone ahead as planned in 2020 she would have been unable to compete. She turns age 50 two days before the opening ceremony of the Games. "It was great that it was pushed back for me considering that I had surgery on my neck in March 2019 and I was in a bit of a hurry to catch up with the qualifiers. I can get more speed in my paddling so I would say that I am in the best shape I have ever been." (svt.se, 11 May 2021)