STEWART Lesley

Classification
SH1 (IPC, 08 Aug 2021)

Type of Impairment
Limb deficiency (dailyrecord.co.uk, 27 Aug 2013)

Origin of Impairment
Acquired (dailyrecord.co.uk, 27 Aug 2013)

Impairment Details
In March 2004 she injured her back while conducting a combat fitness test. The injury resulted in her developing dystonia, a neurological movement disorder. She had her left leg amputated below the knee in 2007, and underwent a life-threatening deep brain stimulation operation in 2009. Doctors placed an electrical box inside her chest which sends electrical pulses to her brain to block faulty signals. Her leg was later amputated above the knee in 2016 following an infection. (dailyrecord.co.uk, 07 Jul 2021; morethanthegames.co.uk, 15 Mar 2012; dailyrecord.co.uk, 27 Aug 2013; heraldscotland.com, 02 Jan 2016)

General
SECOND AMPUTATION
Following the initial amputation of her left leg below the knee in 2007, the leg was amputated above the knee as the result of an infection in 2016, which she says was a difficult transition. "It was a huge relief to have finally secured my quota place [for the 2020 Paralympic Games in Tokyo] given the amount of hard work and dedication that I've put in throughout my shooting career. For the past three or four years it's been a difficult time due to serious injury, and having to transition from a below-knee amputee to an above-knee amputee has taken a lot of rehabilitation and a long time to get myself back into a position where I can compete. At the minute [speaking in 2021] my shooting is the best it has ever been, and there is scope for it to be better." (dailyrecord.co.uk, 07 Jul 2021)

ARMED FORCES
In 2000 she joined the armed forces as a military police officer, serving in Germany in 2002 and in Iraq in 2003. (dailyrecord.co.uk, 27 Aug 2013)