Dr Cor Hutton BCAc
Founder of Finding Your Feet, public speaker and campaigner
In 2013, Cor Hutton’s irritating cough turned out to be pneumonia, rapidly turning into sepsis and she was given a 5% chance of survival. Doctors were forced to amputate both her hands and her legs. Within four months of losing her limbs, she defied doctors with her progress when she walked a mile through Glasgow on prosthetic legs to raise awareness of the charity she had set up to help other amputees; Finding Your Feet. The charity has changed – and even saved – the lives of many amputees and their families. More than £2,000,000 has been raised to support Finding Your Feet so far.
Cor has carried the Commonwealth Games baton, received the Freedom of Renfrewshire, been given the Points of Light award by Prime Minister David Cameron and is regularly included in Inspirational Women of the Year awards. She was the first female amputee to summit Ben Nevis, complete the London Triathlon in 2017 and became the first female quadruple amputee to climb Kilimanjaro in 2018. She has spoken at events across the UK and appeared on national TV including The One Show and Good Morning Britain. Cor also has a monthly column in The Sunday Post.
In 2019, Cor became the first Scot to receive a double hand transplant. She campaigns to raise awareness of the need for organ, tissue and limb donors, to spot the signs of sepsis and prevention methods to reduce the need for amputation. She is improving perceptions of disabilities and removing the stigma of being ‘different’. Her greatest achievement to date is raising her son, Rory.
“Despite feeling at rock bottom, useless and worthless, with help from friends and family, I managed to claim back a positive life, accepting every opportunity and challenge put my way. My role is to encourage, support and inform others in the same situation, with Finding Your Feet, whilst changing perceptions and conditions for amputees, even preventing amputations, where possible.”