My story

“I am not what happened to me. I am what I choose to become.”

Carl Jung

“A fall along one path has set me upon another.”

In 2015, aged 25, I was out jogging with my sister one morning when I tripped and fell.

I thought I had broken my leg. In fact, the blood supply had been severed - and by the time I got to hospital, my right foot was cold. The pain was like nothing I’ve ever felt before.

After three days in intensive care and several long operations, there was only one option remaining. My right leg was to be amputated below the knee.

In one moment, everything had changed. It felt like every plan, hope and dream for the rest of my life had suddenly collapsed around me.

But it didn't. Fast-forward to now and I'm not only walking, I'm thriving. I'm back working as a journalist and am currently Features Editor at Woman&Home and Woman’s Weekly magazine.

I shine a light on trauma through my writing - and have spread my message of hope and inner strength across all forms of media.

My first novel, Five Steps to Happy was published in 3 countries and I regularly receive messages from people around the world, telling me it has brought them comfort in difficult times.

I want to bring disability into the mainstream, to show that we are all capable of amazing things. My ultimate goal is to provide help, positivity and reassurance to everyone out there suffering, no matter what they're going through.

There is hope after trauma. There is light through the dark. It will get better.

Ella x

To find out more, check out my Instagram @ellarosedove