The Able-Bodied & Amputee Athlete

Genesis - In the beginning... I was born on 5th November 1963 [Scorpio] via a forceps delivery/birth i.e. an assisted vaginal birth where an obstetrician uses forceps, a pair of curved, metal tongs, to help guide the baby out of the birth canal. It's used when vaginal delivery is in its final stages but not progressing, and when the mother or baby's health is at risk from prolonged labour. So you could say I possibly got a whiff of the world and wondered did I really want to come into it or not? At the end of the day I got here with some help thankfully. My mother was apparently advised not to have anymore children after I was born...her smaller body wasn't ideal for delivering babies. My older sister of four and a half years old had a baby brother.  I have some fond memories of when I attended Newfield Kindergarten Invercargill in 1967 aged 4. We were allowed to play in the small metal pool that was suspended by legs from the ground. There were little scale boats in the wa...

Kia Ora, My name is Leighton . This blog is about my life both as an amateur able-bodied and amputee athlete/sportsman living here in Invercargill, Southland, New Zealand. I hope you will enjoy the journey I am about to begin to ride. I definitely did. My sporting career was only 24 years duration. Although I was an amateur sportsman I did dream of being a professional. It is my wish that through reading my blog you may become motivated to also not only dream of becoming a professional athlete/sports person, moreso you transform your dream into reality. Your career or your profession becomes:  A professional sport/athlete and you earn a living from/out of it.