UNITED KINGDOM -- A brave woman who lost an arm in a savage dog attack says she is ready to get on with the rest of her life after being fitted with a new prosthetic arm.
Linda Woodhall, 61, has now returned to her volunteering work at the Gateway Community Centre in Ravescliffe, just yards from where she was mauled by a pet dog at her friend’s house last summer.
Linda Woodhall, 61, has now returned to her volunteering work at the Gateway Community Centre in Ravescliffe, just yards from where she was mauled by a pet dog at her friend’s house last summer.
Despite the terror of the incident, the 61-year-old has amazed friends and supporters at the centre by overcoming her severe injuries and adapting to her disability so quickly.
She is now looking to the future with renewed optimism after being fitted with the prosthetic limb just days ago.
“Some people would have just crawled into a corner and let the experience break them but that’s not me. I’m learning how to do a Victory V with my new hand,” she said.
Miss Woodhall, who has now moved from her home in Thackeray Road on the estate to live with a friend in Tyersal, had just got back from a coach trip to Bridlington and had called in at her friend's house for a cup of tea when the American Bulldog suddenly turned on her.
Dozens of people, some armed with garden spades and forks to fend off the dog, had gone to help her after hearing screams from inside – but she managed to walk out of the house by herself.
“I just went for the nearest thing to me to get the dog off and it was a mop. The dog tore the mop head off and took it to a corner. It was deciding whether to come back for more when I realised I had my chance to get up off the floor and get out. I had just seconds. I don’t know where I got the strength from, it was like a sudden superhuman strength.”
The dog, which was not a banned breed, was seized by police and later put down. No charges were ever brought against its owners.
Horrified neighbours described her coming out of the house at the time looking like a “zombie from a gruesome horror movie.” They tried to stem the bleeding until paramedics arrived.
She was taken to Bradford Royal Infirmary before being transferred to Leeds General Infirmary where she spent months while surgeons tried to save her arm.
“All the care I’ve had has been wonderful, everyone did their best for me but in the end the arm had to go. I try to block out what happened that day with the dog and just get on with life. People are amazed I can still smile and joke but that’s what’s got me through this. There’s no point crying now.”
Miss Woodhall said it was also the support and love from her friends at Gateway Centre that had helped her battle through the ordeal.
“It’s good to come back to the centre and be helping out again. I can still butter bread and put the kettle on. Hopefully I’ll be back to baking cakes again soon!” she said.
Anne Henderson who is a Gateway Centre board member and friend said: “Linda’s our ray of sunshine. It’s great to have her back.”
Miss Woodhall’s prosthetic arm is the first stage to her possibly getting a robotic arm if she continues to respond well to her new limb.
“I keep forgetting I’ve got it on and whacking people with it. I don’t feel a thing – but they do!” she joked.
(Telegraph and Argus - Jan 10, 2012)
