A bride who was told she would never walk or talk again after falling into a coma then had a leg amputated was able to dance with her new husband at their wedding.
Amy Peterson, who has suffered a host of health problems, said she feels “wonderful” after tying the knot with her fiancé Ben on Halloween.
Over the past four years, the 32-year-old had all her teeth removed and fell into a coma for five days after suffering a cardiac arrest.
Doctors warned there was a high chance Mrs Peterson would be brain damaged when she woke up and not be able to walk or talk again – but she defied their predictions.
To make matters worse, last April Mrs Peterson’s right leg was amputated below the knee after an ulcer in her foot became infected and began affecting her kidneys.
Yet Mrs Peterson did not let any of her health issues get in the way of marrying her boyfriend of five years last Sunday at Archbishop’s Palace in Maidstone, Kent.
The newlyweds then went on to celebrate with a “spooky reception” at their local – The Fox Pub, in nearby Barming.
Mrs Peterson said: “I know quite a lot of people who have been in hospital, there was a lady next to me that had an amputation a couple of months ago.
“I want them to know there’s a happy ever after.”
When Mrs Peterson woke from her coma at Tunbridge Wells Hospital in Kent in 2017, she was met by Ben holding her hand but did not know how many days had passed.
Despite doctors saying she would suffer brain and probably never walk or talk again, she battled back and recovered.
But four months later, all her teeth had to be removed after repeated infections in her gums.
Asked how she felt about her operation, Mrs Peterson said: “I don’t really get conscious of my looks. I am not a girly girl.
“I have always looked at life that there’s always someone worse off than you.”
While coming to terms with having her leg amputated, Mrs Peterson says not being able to climb the hill to her home by herself is frustrating.
On her special day, she travelled up the aisle in a wheelchair, decorated with fake cobwebs and other Halloween themed objects.
But she was able to stand at the altar with Ben using a stool to rest her leg upon.
She was also able to dance with Ben and her father using the stool to prop her up.
Asked how she felt about marrying Ben, Mrs Peterson said: “It feels wonderful”.
Her Halloween-themed wheelchair was donated by two local pubs in Maidstone.
