By Kiundu Waweru

The whole of last week, most of UK newspapers carried the story of Mandy Sellars, a 36-year-old woman from Lancashire who has giant legs. She recently had one of her legs that weighed over 30 kilogrammes amputated.

But the newspapers report that the leg is growing back at an alarming rate, 22 months after the operation.

Mandy suffers from a rare disease. She has a normal upper body, size 12, according to Daily Mail, but massive feet and legs.

When she developed septicaemia in the limb, her doctors said if she did not get the part amputated, she would die.

Amputation

However, the amputated leg, which is growing again, now weighs about 19 kilogrammes.

Mandy is quoted by the Daily Mirror as saying, "I hoped the amputation would stabilise my condition but I think I knew in my heart that it would start growing again." "Almost straight away the stump began increasing in circumference and I was finding it harder to fit it into my prosthetic leg. Then the stump got so heavy that it broke the prosthetic leg."

Her condition is said to be close to Proteus Syndrome — a condition which involves a typical growth of the bones, skin, head and a variety of other symptoms.

However, Mandy is positive about life, despite going through a lot of agony.

She drives, does her own chores and writes a blog where she describes her experiences.

In the blog, Mandy says that she was born on February 20, 1975 and from birth there was something visibly wrong with her.

"My legs and feet were large and deformed, for want of a better word," she writes.

She spent a few weeks in the hospital and doctors were not sure whether she would live or die. "But hey, I’m still here at 35, having fun," wrote Mandy last year.

She attended special school until the age of 14 after which she did her GCSE part time.

In college, Mandy did an Art course and she says she made good friends. Along with studying, Mandy says she enjoyed some weekends away with plenty of booze and drunken nights.

While studying for a degree in Graphic Design away from home, Mandy says she had mobility difficulties and was forced to defer the course. She returned home for an operation to reduce the weight of the legs.

Relationship

"Soon after, I wanted my independence and found my own home. I lived by spending the weekends drinking and dancing the night away!"

She has not let her rare and mind boggling condition bog her down.

Mandy would later study sociology, psychology and criminology. She also found love and was in a relationship that lasted nearly four years.

"But it wasn’t meant to be," she writes.

However, I wasn’t single for long and soon found someone who I spent nearly three years with."

Two years into her second relationship, she suffered a Deep Vein Thrombosis (DVT) and was paralysed for six weeks. After recovering, she had to learn to walk all over again.

The hospital stay caused problems in her relationship and they split up shortly after.

Mandy has done a lot of voluntary work in the counselling field.

Her condition frequently sees her with multiple infections like blood infections, kidney and stomach problems, urine infections, and severe anemia, leading to frequent hospitalisation.

But, she keeps on learning to walk again, of which she writes, "It takes a while but I’m at least now back to myself. Learning to walk is a little harder but it won’t stop me!"