Policewoman Wants Leg Amputated
A female Police Community Support Officer (PCSO) has revealed an unusual new year’s wish – to have her leg amputated.
Tania Goddard has been patrolling her beat in Filwood, Bristol, in excruciating pain due to a genetic condition that causes her leg to swell up.
The 38-year-old, from Horfield, often finishes her shift in tears – but this will soon come to an end as her wish to have her damaged left leg amputated comes true.
The mother-of-three said it is her goal to have the operation and get back to her job with a prosthetic leg within six months.
“I love my job and it is the only thing that keeps me going,” she told the Bristol Evening Post. “I am going to have a prosthetic leg… my goal is to be back on the beat within three to six months. Once I have my leg fitted I am intent on putting my uniform on and going back out and doing my job.”
Mrs Goddard, who uses crutches or a wheelchair to get around when she is off duty, has worked as a PCSO for six years.
She is now part of the Filwood beat team, carrying out patrols, working with victims of crime and helping tackle anti-social behaviour.
Mrs Goddard suffers from arteriovenous malformation, which is an abnormal connection between arteries and veins, causing her left leg to swell up from two to six inches bigger than her other leg.
Mrs Goddard said the operation would also allow her to spend more quality time with her husband Richard and children Daniel, Joshua and Louize.
The operation to remove her leg from just above the knee will take place at Southmead Hospital in January.
Same Difference 
It sounds like a reasonable request to me. All too often doctors and other healthcare professionals concentrate far too little on quality of life. It sounds to me Mrs. Goddard will have much less pain and be able to enjoy life more without the leg that is causing her so many problems.
One thing that is a bit confusing though is where it says she ‘uses crutches or a wheelchair to get around when she is off duty’. How does she manage to not use any of these while on duty?
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