Podcast Interview: Heather Mills on Limb Loss, Positive Mindset & Gut

On the latest episode of theNational Disability and Carers Card Scheme Podcast, we spoke to campaigner, entrepreneur and record-breaking athlete Heather Mills. Heather lost her leg below the knee in 1993, and has since helped pioneer modern prosthetic limbs, built a worldwide amputee support community and founded the low FODMAP food brand No Bloat after a second, hidden condition affected her gut. She talks openly about limb loss rehabilitation, phantom pain, challenging people’s assumptions about disability, and answers questions sent in by our card holders.

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Please note the content of the podcast has been abridged and paraphrased for readability. You can watch or listen to the full podcast using the links in this post.

Can you tell us a little about yourself?

Heather Mills: I’m 58 and I’m a below-knee amputee. I’d spent years working in the former Yugoslavia during the war, including on landmine clearance, and came back without a scratch. Then I crossed a street in London and a police motorcycle hit me and took my leg off. Bizarrely, my mother lost her leg at the same age, but they reattached hers and didn’t reattach mine (which was the most sensible thing to do).

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How did you come to be working in the former Yugoslavia?

I’d been through two ectopic pregnancies and several miscarriages, and I was going through a divorce. A friend took me on holiday to Lake Bled, in what was then Yugoslavia, and I fell in love with skiing. I left my house and my life here and went to work there. Then the war started, and I ended up volunteering in landmine removal and prosthetic assistance, which is bizarre looking back, as it was before I lost my own leg. Afterwards, I went on to create a large landmine clearing charity.

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When you were in rehab, what did professionals get right, and what was missing?

It was 1993 andprosthetic limbs were awful: big, clumpy things. There was no internet to look up what other amputees were doing. I was in hospital for about five months,flat on my back, because my biggest injury was actually a crushed pelvis. I also had a punctured lung and a head injury, and they had to keep amputating more of my leg because of infection.

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The hospital team were excellent. The only exception was a therapist who kept telling me I was being “far too positive” and that men wouldn’t find me as attractive anymore. I was 25. Thank goodness I was confident, because imagine what that could do to a young person.

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What was missing was an understanding of nutrition. I was desperate not to lose my leg above the knee as the infection kept creeping up. A friend took me to a health clinic in Florida, I changed my diet completely, went vegan and my wound finally healed. I’ve been vegan ever since.

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Where does your positive attitude come from?

I think I was just born positive. I had a pretty horrific childhood. My mum left when I was nine and my dad went to prison when I was 13, so I became the mother figure and problem solver at home. After four years in a war zone without a scratch, I lost my leg crossing the road at home, and I just thought: when your time’s up, your time’s up. That’s when I really got into extreme sports. I’m an adrenaline junkie, and sport is my high.

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How did losing your leg affect your identity and relationships?

Honestly, notmuch. On a date I’d take my leg off straight away and ask the guy to massage my stump! My friends forget I’ve lost my leg until I’m in five-inch heels on slippery leaves.

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I do deal with a lot (bleeding and blistering) but if you’re always complaining about something, that’s all people see. On days I need to rest my leg, I do my emails, admin or filing instead. I believe with today’s technology there’s almost always a way to work. I have friends who were injured in war zones who can only move their heads, and we help them find employment because they’re super smart.

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I like to challenge people’s perception of disability. I did a backflip in high heels on Dancing with the Stars in 2007, which no one with two legs had done before. Since then, more disabled contestants have been encouraged to take part, and a woman with one leg went on to win the show in India, where disability can still be stigmatised.

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Tell us about helping to develop specialist prosthetics.

Once my leg healed, I went to the Stanmore orthopaedic centre. I was given a basic first leg so my residual limb could get used to pressure, and because I’m sporty and disciplined, I did most of my physio at home. Then I started working with prosthetics teams to develop the limbs I wanted. If I wanted to wear highheels, we developed a leg for it. If I wanted to ice skate, we made that possible, and those developments became available to others, including Paralympians.

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For anyone who is a new amputee: phantom pains can be intense for some years. What has helped me is warmth, such as a heat sock with my leg elevated on pillows. It does get better over time, though after 30 years I still get the occasional twinge when the weather changes.

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How do you deal with people who don’t understand your disability?

With a prosthetic, I can’t tuck my leg under a seat on a train. Once a man complained that my leg was taking up his space, so I took it off and put it next to me. He was mortified! I told him, “You can’t always see a disability, so don’t worry, but maybe you were a little rude.”

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I’m never an angry challenger. You’re in control of your mindset, and a sense of humour really helps. As disabled people, we often have to be the bigger person: be patient with those who are impatient, and challenge their perception at the same time.

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You’ve also built a huge peer support community. How did that start?

When I lost myleg, I didn’t know any other amputees. In the 1990s, as the internet arrived, I set up an amputee forum and was talking to 10 people a day. I asked everyone I helped to pledge to go on and help someone else. It snowballed, and we now have around 250,000 people worldwide supporting each other so they don’t feel isolated. After the 7/7 bombings, I visited amputees in hospital and told them: you won’t believe it now, but you will get through this, and you’ll go on to do amazing things. One of them went on to compete in Paralympic sport.

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Has limb loss changed how you approach risk and business?

I’ve nearly died four times. When that happens, you either live in fear, or you decide to do everything you want to do and leave a legacy that helps others. I’m addicted to the drug of giving. I was also homeless at a young age, so I know what the worst case looks like, and once you get your head around that, it takes the fear away. For most disabilities, there are so many options. It’s about finding your passion. I once met an artist who had no arms and painted incredibly detailed work with her feet.

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Have you faced barriers in business as a disabled person?

Not much, because my disability isn’t very visible. Things are better than in the ’90s thanks to the Paralympics and the Invictus Games, but it’s still not good enough. Often you have to shout louder, push more and work harder.

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As patron of a disability foundation, I worked behind the scenes on better wheelchairs and accessible buildings: ramps, lifts and toilets. My advice is to come with solutions, not just complaints. Councils have tight budgets, so we showed them how many people with buggies, for example, would also use a ramp. Look at the bigger picture of who benefits.

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Tell us about No Bloat.

No Bloat came about because I developed another disability: severe gut issues. I had Lyme disease misdiagnosed for years, and it attacked my colon. I had my appendix and gallbladder removed and suddenly couldn’t eat the food I’d always eaten. I had uncontrollable IBS, and doctors wanted to remove half my colon. I’m very sporty, so I said there has to be another solution.

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Over 14 years of research, I discovered garlic and onion were my triggers, part of a group of foods called FODMAPs. Every time I gave a speech, the longest queue was people suffering with their gut. Many had stopped eating out altogether because they couldn’t control their bowel, which is even harder if you’re a wheelchair user and need to find an accessible toilet quickly. So I created No Bloat: freeze-dried,low FODMAP ready meals you can take anywhere and make with hot water.

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It sold out in a week. When we asked why people had bought it, it wasn’t just people with gut issues, but also skiers, hikers, campers, travellers and people who simply wanted a convenient, healthy meal.

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💡 National Disability Card holders can get 10% off their first No Bloat order: login to find out more.

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What do people need to know about FODMAP?

It’s not always about cutting foods out completely. For example, silken tofu can be high FODMAP but firm tofu isn’t. Oyster mushrooms are fine for me, button mushrooms aren’t. A lot of it is “stacking”: you might be fine with hummus one week, but if you eat the same foods repeatedly, you tip over the edge and your symptoms flare up.

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Bloating and inflammation also affect how you feel, and much of our serotonin is produced in the gut, so gut health and mental health are closely linked.

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Where does diet fit alongside conventional medicine?

I think it’s essential. In the Bronx, I opened free cafés serving healthy vegan food to children who were living on fast food, and we saw real improvements in their health. Some hospitals in the US now serve plant-based meals to patients. In the UK, I’ve seen a friend’s grandad given mince and mash and ice cream after a stroke [while in hospital]. Hospital food should be helping people recover!

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What would you say to someone with a chronic condition who wants to improve their diet?

Give yourself a month. Keep a food diary, consider getting a blood test before and after, and see how you feel. The reality is you need something convenient so you don’t give in while you work out your triggers, especially if you’re busy managing other aspects of your condition. Once you feel the difference, you won’t want to go back.

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💡Speak to your GP or a registered dietitian before making significant changes to your diet, particularly if you have a medical condition.

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How did you hear about the National Disability Card?

One of my team who runs our website and marketing, asked if I had a National Disability Card. I had no idea it existed. I looked at it and said, “This is mad, we should totally be working with you!” With the cost of living crisis, any support and information you can give people with disabilities is vital, and more people need to know about it.

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Card holder question #1: As a wheelchair user, people often speak to my partner instead of me. How can I educate them?

When I was in a wheelchair and someone spoke to the person pushing me, I’d just say, “Hey, how are you?”, not in a confrontational way, just friendly. They usually say sorry. It’s rarely conscious; often people are uncomfortable and don’t know how to react.

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Wear bright, fun clothes. Anyone is more interesting when they greet you with a smile. If you can’t talk, carry a card that invites people to write you a note. Paint your wheelchair in rainbow colours if you like! Take control of the situation, because you’re challenging people’s perceptions and inspiring others who are new to disability. Wheelchair or not, be loud and proud.

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Card holder question #2: What do people often get wrong about you?

I’ve had five documentaries made about me featuring people who’ve never met me. So my advice is: never judge someone unless you’ve spent real time with them. I don’t read social media at all. Protect yourself, stay away from keyboard warriors, and focus on being a good person. The people who know you, know who you are.

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Card holder question #3: What does a tough day look like, and what gets you through it?

I start work at 4am and often finish at midnight, juggling factories, legal issues, humanitarian work and sport. What keeps me going is that the worst things that have happened to me have led to the best. Losing my leg led to the landmine charity and better prosthetics. Being abused by the press led me to uncover phone hacking and to help others get compensation.

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Whatever you’re going through, there is often someone going through something harder. Try not to be like a goldfish in a bowl. Look outward at the good around you: a supportive friend, a family member. Whatever cards you’ve been dealt, focus on the good and make more good things.

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What would you say to someone who doesn’t yet have that confidence?

Try it once. At school, I’d never go on stage. Then a speaker didn’t turn up to an event for my book and I was pushed up to speak. I spoke for 40 minutes, got a standing ovation and was booked for another talk the next day. As soon as you do it once, you’ll do it twice, and your confidence will grow. What’s the worst that can happen?

Listen to the full episode with Heather Mills:

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About the National Disability & Carers Card Scheme

The National Disability & Carers Card Scheme was set up in 2019 by carers, to make everyday life and access easier for people with disabilities and those who care for them. The scheme supports 300,000 card holders and provides easy-to-carry visual identification that helps users avoid repeatedly explaining their disability or caring role. The National Disability Card is accepted as proof of disability at 600+ venues across the UK and abroad. Apply for your card today.