NHS nurse begs doctors to amputate her leg - after horrific ankle snap while doing trendy bouldering

A newly qualified nurse is begging doctors to chop off her leg to save her career - after snapping her ankle in a horrific 'freak' accident while bouldering with pals. Milda Ambra 'shattered' her ankle after attempting a 'controlled fall' from a 10-foot-high wall on January 31 while bouldering - a fashionable form of climbing that has become increasingly popular.

After landing onto the safety mat, the 24-year-old realised 'something wasn't right' when she noticed her left ankle was at a right angle. The mental health nurse graduate was rushed to hospital where she discovered she had an extreme dislocation and break and required surgery just two days after her graduation ceremony at the University of York.

But rather than healing as it should, Milda claims the pain has become so 'intolerable' that she wants it removing and is now awaiting leg amputation between her knee and ankle. The 'gutted' nurse says she only began working full-time in December 2023 and thanks to her injury has had to take a different role that means she cannot even afford her rent.

Unable to afford a good quality wheelchair to help her function, Milda set up a GoFundMe page and plans to crutch, wheel and swim 168 kilometres across August and September to raise the money she needs to purchase one.

Milda, who lives in York, North Yorkshire, said: "It's gutting. With my ankle now, half of my nursing career is over. I can't work on the wards with this. I worked so hard for so many years. I only started working as a nurse in December and I did this in January.

"It's my life. It's my whole livelihood. I've worked in healthcare for four years and I'm always on my feet. My whole life's changed overnight. My whole life as I know it is completely different now."

The sports enthusiast revealed she wanted to try a new activity and had only been bouldering twice before her accident. Milda said: "I'd heard of a lot of broken ankles from bouldering but not to this extent. I was still quite new so I was trying some of the climbs before I fell and shattered my ankle.

"It was just from below the top of the wall. I'd just got one hand to the top of the climb but I wasn't confident in finishing it so I was coming back down. My favourite part was climbing up and then falling to the mat. It wasn't like I just fell over, it was like a controlled fall I suppose.

"When I landed I knew something wasn't right at that point. I rolled onto my back. I looked down and my ankle was at a right angle. My friend took my shoe off and we were joking. I didn't cry and was joking about it. I wanted to get a picture of my foot.

"Then one of the workers called an ambulance. They got there in about 10 minutes. My foot was at a different angle. I knew it was either broken or dislocated. I started finding out how serious it was a couple of hours after."

After being rushed to hospital, the graduate discovered she had a subtalar dislocation, a rare form of ankle injury, along with severe breaks, requiring surgery.

Milda said: "They tried to fix it but they couldn't pull it back into place. They had to knock me out to be able to pull the ankle back. They were worried about possibly losing my foot because there was no blood flow. I was still in a lot of shock.

"Once they pulled it and put a cast on it, it didn't hurt. It wasn't until the next night that the pain set in and I had loads of complications with it.

"The doctor let me have a look at the CT scan and that was when I knew how serious it was. It just looked shattered; it was just dust. It's not one clean break, it's just absolutely shattered. I've broken the talus, which is the ankle joint bone which joins your foot to your heel to your leg. It takes all of your body weight and everything."

The mental health nurse masters student revealed she was kept in hospital until her surgery on February 9, but still managed to attend her graduation ceremony two days before. Milda said: "I went to graduation on a lot of painkillers, on crutches, my foot was like dust. I was committed to going.

"I didn't get to stay for the whole thing. The doctors were really hesitant to let me go with the state my ankle was in. I'm so glad I went after all those years. I was the only mental health nurse that did a masters. I didn't do a four-year degree for nothing."

The 24-year-old revealed she took her first steps on May 5 without a boot or crutches after going to physiotherapy and re-learning to walk. However, Milda admitted her injury deteriorated and the pain 'escalated' so much that her surgeon suggested amputation, which she is hoping will happen by December.

Milda said: "I kept doing my physio but the pain kept getting worse and worse. It just escalated. I was still walking with the two crutches. I did try and go down to one but the pain was intolerable. I couldn't sleep and I was throwing up from it.

"June was the first time we discussed possible amputation. It was a relief when the surgeon mentioned it. I'd already been thinking about it. When I started going backwards where the pain got worse it was at that point I thought, 'I'd rather just get it off'.

"It meant I can't work, I can't play netball, I can't afford to pay my rent. It was really having a massive impact. Honestly, it was a relief when he said that.

"I'd come to terms with it. I just want to be able to walk again. I'm just waiting on my next review just to rule out that the pain is being caused by soft tissue damage. I'm really hoping then we'll have further plans. It's not looking like the amputation will happen until December."

The children's eating disorder nurse revealed her disability makes working full-time tough and she bought herself a cheap wheelchair for the days when she couldn't use crutches. However, Milda's fundraiser donations have allowed her to order a £3,000 wheelchair which she hopes will give her some extra 'freedom' until her amputation.

Milda said: "It's terrible. I try to make the best of it. I've got a really bad wheelchair that I'm not using as much as I should be. I'm still working fulltime as a children's eating disorder nurse. Working full time as a nurse isn't the best income.

"I was relying on weekend shifts at the hospital but now I can't walk so I can't do that so I can't afford my rent. I need a wheelchair to manage because some days I can't use the crutches. The need is there.

"The wheelchair I've ordered will be made for me so I don't get any back injuries. I can't wait to get that chair and get in it and have that freedom.

"It cost just under £3,000. I didn't realise that wheelchair's cost that much. It's the cheapest chair I could get that would suit my needs. I was over the moon with how the fundraiser went. Within the first week I'd received £2,000.

"I'm hoping to complete it by the end of September. It feels like I can still achieve something, it's not the end of the world."

Despite the healthcare worker's injury, she admitted she doesn't regret trying bouldering as it was a 'complete freak accident' and that her life is 'not over'.

Milda said: "I don't regret it. It was a complete freak accident. I don't think anyone did anything wrong. I fell safely and I did everything right. It was a complete freak accident. There's nothing I would change, I probably still would've gone. It's just so unfortunate. The life you knew isn't over, it's just changing."