A “healthy and strong” cheerleader, who had to have her leg amputated after a freak blood clot cut off her circulation, has made a triumphant return to the sport.
Brooke Walker had been competing since the age of 12, holding both national and international titles, but last February, she started to experience mild pain in her left hip.
Being an athlete, she was used to aches and injuries and tried to push through, but the pain intensified so much that she couldn’t sleep at night or focus at school.
READ MORE: ‘I was filled with fear as my baby was born with a rugby ball-shaped head’
The teen was horrified when doctors discovered the cause – and within a month, on 21 March, her leg was cut off, changing her life forever.
“At first, I was in shock,” Brooke from Texas, US, told Need To Know.
“I couldn’t believe that it was happening.
“Then, slowly but surely, reality started to set in.
“I cried for countless hours, mourning the life I had lost.
“But I knew that my life would never be the same.”
The first sign that something was wrong came in February 2023.
Brooke said: “I began to feel some pain in my left hip at cheer practice.
“Being an athlete means aches and pains all the time.
“I had pushed through pain before, and I thought this time would be no different.
“A month later, the pain was in my foot and it was so intense I couldn’t sleep or focus at school.
“I was pushing through the tears so I could compete at a national cheer competition in March.
“I completed the competition, but that night the pain became unbearable.
“My mum got me to urgent care early the next morning.
“Imaging of my foot showed an extreme lack of blood flow.
“They told me to get to the emergency room immediately.”
Doctors at the emergency room performed a number of tests on Brooke, which eventually revealed that she had five blood clots in the three arteries that carry blood through the ankle.
According to Brooke, doctors still don’t know what caused the blood clots, but suspect it could have been caused by Covid or an injury.
She had three operations as doctors worked tirelessly to restore the blood flow to her foot, but they were unsuccessful, leading to the amputation.
In June 2023, she got her first prosthetic leg and had to spend time relearning how to walk again.
Despite the new battle, the determined young woman decided she wasn’t ready to give up on cheerleading.
Brooke said: “It was definitely a challenge to relearn to walk again, but I was more determined than I had ever been to get back to life as normal.
“I scrolled through my phone and saw all my friends living their lives, cheering and taking cute pictures.
“I wasn’t sure who would give me the opportunity, but I knew that I needed to return to my sport.
“I knew I would find a way.”
Brooke opted out of inpatient recovery and focused on her walking – even going to Greece on holiday two weeks after getting her prosthetic, and using crutches to walk upstairs and along roads as practise.
Inspiringly, less than a year after losing her leg, Brooke has now returned to competitive cheerleading.
She said: “I never really had a specific program or person to help me return to cheer.
“It was a mixture of my parents, coaches, and myself.
“I had to fall a dozen times to learn a skill, but it was all worth it.
“The hardest physical obstacle to overcome has definitely been relearning to tumble.
“It’s been a journey filled with sad and happy tears.
“It’s difficult mourning the skills I no longer have, but I have been landing my old skills once again.
“A few days ago, I landed my back tuck by myself for the first time with my prosthetic leg.
“I landed the skill and immediately started crying with joy because I was proving to myself that I could do it.
“I had to watch my team compete without me at Worlds [competition], but my coaches helped me through recovery after the surgery and invited me back to compete when I was ready.
“I’m now on the team as a stunter.
“It has been a long journey to return to life as I once lived it.
“Each day, I have to choose to see the good over the bad.
“Some days I don’t want to get out of bed, but I know I have an opportunity to make an impact.
“What fills me with the most joy is when others say that they are inspired by my story.
“I have spoken to thousands of people through my social channels (@itsbrookewalker) in hopes of encouraging them to never give up and keep chasing their dreams despite the obstacles that have been put in their way.
“I wish people knew that you can’t control what happens to you, but you can control how you react to it and how you use it for something good.”
READ MORE: ‘My hen do hangover turned out to be warning sign – I ended up in hospital days before my wedding’
