25 August 2023 , 01:37
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A woman who had to have her leg amputated after a freak accident in a nightclub triggered cancer has told how she is learning to run again.
Brave Katja Pschait- from Gralla, Styria State, Austria - had been celebrating her 22nd birthday with pals in 2018 when she was hit after a table was sent flying. The table hit her right leg and she was in agony from deep bruising and sought medical help. Surgeons told her the impact had caused a benign tumour which they planned to remove.
But pre-op biopsies shockingly revealed that the tumour was, in fact, synovial sarcoma - a one-in-a-million rare cancer and they had to amputate her leg. Shocked Katja - now 27 - rebelled and tried a series of alternative cures like shamen and diets to shrink the tumour.
She told local Kleine Zeitung newspaper in Austria: "They told me, Miss Pschait, we'll amputate your leg next week." She added: "I just could not believe it. I refused to come to terms with it." Katja returned to work and - she says - for a while her condition seemed to improve.
But when she collapsed in agony two years later in 2020 she went back to hospital where surgeons removed part of her right leg. Katja said: "I was afraid of going insane after waking up when the surgery is over."
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She had been celebrating her birthday before the accident (Newsflash)She added: "One of the doctors removed the blanket. I took a look at my thickly bandaged leg and just thought: 'Alright.'" Katja - who received unwavering support from her four sisters, her parents and friends - took her first steps with a prosthetic leg just one month after the op.
She had to give up her restaurant job as long shifts of standing and walking damaged her hip. But now she's taking accountancy classes to start a new career. Katja - who finds strength in cuddling her pet cat Jack - explained: "Of course, I still have breakdowns now and then. And there have been very difficult periods."
The brave young woman added: "But it would be stupid to just sit at home and weep. I just love spending my time outside." Katja revealed she has not just received encouragement but also shocking insults and scorn from people.
She said: "I have to take a lot. But I then tell myself: Hey, a piece of me might be missing but I'm still a human being." Katja is now looking forward to receiving a sports prosthesis financed by two fundraising initiatives organised by the Kleine Zeitung newspaper and national broadcaster ORF.
The special prosthesis will enable her to go jogging and hiking. But Katja said: "My nephew is one and a half years old. Chasing after him will be the best part!"