Beneficiaries Programme - in collaboration with the Nissan Possibilities Project

About the Beneficiaries Programme

Supported by the Nissan Possibilities Project and project partners Össur and Proactive Prosthetics, we are providing prosthetics and ongoing support for people with lower limb loss, limb difference or amputation who want to get active through running and sport but face barriers to achieving their ambition.

Now in its third year, the Beneficiaries Programme provides funding for sports prosthetics, plus advice and mentoring to help them achieve their sporting aspirations. The recipients are all amputees who are not eligible to receive running prosthetics through the NHS.

Class of 2023 Beneficiaries.

Meet the class of 2025

Kirsty, Ryan, Natalie, and Curnow are the latest individuals to join our growing community of beneficiaries. Watch our videos taken from our assessment day earlier this year. We are pleased to announce all four beneficiaries were successful in gaining a place in this year’s programme.

Curnow

In 2023, Curnow was diagnosed with an epithelioid sarcoma in his calf - a rare and aggressive form of cancer. He urgently underwent an above-knee amputation to give himself the best chance at recovery. It was an incredibly difficult time, physically and emotionally. 

Sport has always been a huge part of his life, as a P.E. teacher for work, and as a sportsperson in his free time. The focus on physiotherapy, while he rebuilt his strength and confidence in movement, almost felt like a return to normality after being ill and still for so long. He began to play badminton again in a loaned wheelchair and tried to walk more often. Two years and a lot of hard work later, he is now on the verge of joining the GB para-badminton programme – an amazing opportunity that he hopes he can make the most of and is working towards competing in the European Championships this year and the World Championships in 2026. 

At home, however, he is still far more sedentary than he would like to be. The running prosthetic, provided by the Beneficiaries Programme, would not only elevate his training, but more importantly, it would give him the freedom to be more active outdoors and with his family - to play, to run, and enjoy moving quickly again!  

Natalie

When Natalie stepped on some glass in her kitchen while studying geography at university, she never imagined that this seemingly simple injury would change the course of her life. The painstaking battle with sepsis, thirteen surgeries, and four and a half months in hospital which followed tested her mental and physical health to their absolute limits. When she was discharged from hospital, complete with the foot that surgeons had fought so hard to save, she was desperate to regain some sense of normality.  

Ten years passed and Natalie was still on crutches, unable to bare weight through her foot. Even the lightest breeze or a subtle change in temperature could cause extreme pain that even the strongest opioids couldn’t relieve. Natalie fought hard to return to adventuring, visiting some of the world’s top whitewater kayaking destinations, rapidly progressing her way up through the sport. However, her foot continued to cause extreme pain and prevented her from walking. An elective amputation no-longer felt like a choice. Within four months of her amputation, she wakeboarded and rock climbed once again, ran her first 5k, and almost a year after her amputation she ran her first ever half-marathon.  

Natalie’s amputation had set her free and a whole new world of adventure awaited. Five years since becoming an amputee, Natalie runs almost daily, and spends her summers exploring the mountains of Europe on foot, by mountain bike, or climbing and mountaineering. She still struggles with extreme pain and fatigue and uses a wheelchair much of the time, but when she is up on her prosthetic she makes the most of her time. Natalie hopes the Beneficiaries Programme will enable her to maximise her comfort and functionality from her prosthetics for running and mountain sports so that she can better control her pain and stump problems. She hopes to spend more time playing and less time on wheels. Now blessed with a young family, Natalie hopes to return to fitness so she can share her love of adventure sports with her growing family, and inspire other young families to overcome barriers and enjoy all the wonders that outdoor activities and sports can bring. 

Ryan

ln the summer of 2022, Ryan was working as a paramedic, had moved into his first house and adopted a dog. He began to feel content in how his life was shaping out, but he started to notice some cramping in his left calf. He decided to get it checked and after a GP visit and urgent hospital scans, he was diagnosed with a sarcoma. Life completely changed for him from that moment as he was unable to work or walk long distances. Within a matter of weeks, he began 14 cycles of chemotherapy, with the understanding that an amputation might be needed after the ninth cycle. Despite responding well to treatment, the decision was made to go ahead with an above-knee amputation in January 2023. 

Ryan finished his remaining chemotherapy and returned to work in the NHS. Since then he’s adapted well to using a microprocessor prosthetic which he’s had for two years, and stays active through a local fitness group and swimming. Ryan has ensured that being an amputee has not prevented him from striving to reach his full potential.   

Being chosen as a beneficiary means a lot to Ryan. From the running prosthesis to mentoring, the overall support will help him work toward his goal of competing in HYROX events and pushing his fitness even further. He’s also eager to help create more support other disabled people in the South West. For Ryan, the project is all about removing barriers, increasing visibility, building confidence and seeing what’s possible; not just for him but for others too. 

Kirsty

Before losing her leg at 13 to Osteosarcoma, Kirsty was an active, sport-loving teenager who spent her days outdoors and thrived on competition. The diagnosis came suddenly, and after months of chemotherapy and failed surgery she woke from an operation to find her leg had been amputated. Life changed for Kirsty overnight.

Kirsty returned to school a year later, struggling with confidence, identity, and feeling completely different from her peers. For years she had hidden her prosthetic leg, avoided new situations, and battled anxiety and depression.

Becoming a mum gave Kirsty new purpose, but it wasn’t until she removed the cosmetic cover from her prosthesis and truly embraced her difference that everything began to shift. She started prioritising her health and slowly rebuilt her confidence.

A turning point for Kirsty was attending an event where she met other amputees and felt seen for the first time. She tried running again - something she once loved - and it reignited a part of her that she thought she had lost.

Today Kirsty is proud of who she is, she works as an audiologist, loves what she does, and focuses on her health, mindset, and wellbeing. She is now confident, strong, and no longer hiding. Kirsty’s journey hasn’t been easy, but it’s made her stronger, and more resilient. She has come full circle - from a girl who loved sprinting to a woman rediscovering joy and power, now with even more determination and purpose.

Kirsty is embracing the challenge of learning to run on a blade, committed to growth, resilience, and breaking barriers. With a strong mindset and dedication to fitness, she aims to inspire her daughters and others throughout her journey. Kirsty’s goals include joining an athletics club, starting with a Couch to 5K, progressing to sprinting, and participating in events like Parkrun and Run with Rich. Kirsty wishes to be an advocate for inclusivity in disability sport while forming meaningful connections along the way.

Meet our partners behind the programme

Thank you to our partners - Nissan, Össur and Proactive Prosthetics, who make our Beneficiary Programme possible.

  • The Nissan Possibilities Project is Nissan’s long-term corporate social responsibility initiative, built on the core belief of making excitement possible for all. The project uses Nissan’s technologies, resources and expertise to create more opportunities for people from underrepresented communities, with a specific focus on supporting disability and LGBTQ+ initiatives.

    Working with the Richard Whitehead Foundation and Sported UK, Nissan is helping people with disabilities become more mobile and participate in sporting activities by providing running prosthetics (and other mobility equipment) and ongoing support to young people with limb loss, amputation or limb difference.

  • Össur is a global leader in non-invasive orthopaedics that helps people live a Life Without Limitations®. Founded in 1971 by Össur Kristinsson, an Icelandic prosthetist who developed the breakthrough silicone interface for prosthetic sockets, the Iceross® liner, Össur has since added numerous life-changing products to their portfolio including the unique SYMBIONIC® LEG, the world's first complete bionic leg incorporating Bionic Technology by Össur, and the Unloader One®, a clinically proven brace to relieve the pain of knee osteoarthritis.

    Össur’s significantly investment in research and development has led to over 2,000 patents, award-winning designs and successful clinical outcomes. Össur operates globally and employs around 4,000 employees in 30 location.

  • Proactive Prosthetics and Orthotics provides expert prosthetic and orthotic care - enabling individuals to attain their goals through high-intensity treatment, an interdisciplinary approach, and an independent and honest assessment based on individual patient needs.

Class of 2024

Following the success of its inaugural class of beneficiaries in 2023, we have once again partnered with Nissan and prosthetic provider Össur to support four more individuals with running prosthetics.

  • During Amy’s teenage years, she developed a congenital condition which caused her leg to progressively turn inwards. As the internal rotation increased, she started to use a wheelchair to help cope with her debilitating pain, which also led to the deterioration of her mental health. In January 2022, she elected to undergo surgery to amputate her leg.

    Prior to her disability, Amy was very active and athletic, and with the aid of the Beneficiaries Programme she’s determined to get back to running and playing sport.

  • Growing up, I knew I was not the typical healthy teenager. I spent four years at secondary school on crutches which had a major impact on my physical and mental health. I stopped participating in all sporting activity and was left copying out of books during PE lessons. Going from having a mostly invisible disability to one that is very visible was a big knock to my confidence.  Since becoming a beneficiary of Nissan's Possibility Project through The Richard Whitehead Foundation, my confidence around participating in sports and activities has massively improved. I'm excited to find a sport that I can pursue further, become fitter, and make the next step in finding the "new me" I wanted to find when undergoing my amputation. At the same time, I want to raise awareness of disabilities that are visible and invisible.

  • Less than a year old, Daniel lost his leg due to a congenital condition. He's grown up alongside his identical twin brother who was fortunate to not experience the same condition. They both have a strong interest in sport and running, with ambitions to achieve Olympic and Paralympic success.

    However, due to the barriers faced as a disabled child, Daniel did not have the same experience and access to sport as his brother while growing up. Through the Beneficiaries Programme, Daniel is striving to increase his performance on the athletics track in the hopes of achieving his dream to represent ParalympicsGB.

  • From the age of 12, Victoria suffered from complex regional pain syndrome (CRPS) following a minor trampolining accident. The rare chronic condition caused her to experience extended periods of pains, where her foot could not be touched due to the level of discomfort. In her twenties, a blood clot was discovered behind her knee and five years of intermittent treatment followed, eventually leading to her “recovery” and she was again able to live life to the full.

    However, in 2017, the CRPS returned suddenly and Victoria rapidly deteriorated. To the point where she was unable to walk and would pass out from the pain if her foot or leg was touched. Eventually, she elected to have her leg amputated and following a determined approach to rehabilitation, she can start to do some the activities she used to enjoy.

“I have seen first-hand the positive impact that being active can have and the difference this programme has made to all involved. With Nissan and Össur, we are all passionate about supporting more disabled people to achieve their ambitions.”

Richard Whitehead MBE

Ossur - Life without Limitations