Amputee Carla Francis shares touching story of her struggles

As difficult as her life’s journey has been the amputee continues to battle her way through.

These days she gets around with the aid of a wheelchair but yearns for that day to come when she can walk about freely, albeit with the aid of prosthetics.

Francis had a difficult childhood following the death of her mother. She never managed to finish her secondary education due to a lack of financial support. Her older sister tried her best at the time to keep her in school at Eltham High but when the once famous furniture and appliance store, Homelectrix, folded for good at the turn of the century, she too found herself out of work.

Recounting that unforgettable day in 2010, the 33-year-old Burke Road, Old Harbour resident, said: “A bicycle hit me down and my leg was broken and the guy [rider] tried to straighten my leg and mash up my main vein. While in the hospital they [doctors] tell me that it has to be amputated because it got infected.”

Despite having to experienced such demoralising setback at such a young age, Francis remains resilient in the midst of her struggles.  With the birth of her first and only child – a daughter – a year ago, she is more determined than ever.

Adjusting to her new normal – living without a leg – took some time mentally getting accustomed to, as her whole life changed.

She said she has tried her hands at many things to “not be a burden” to anybody including her child's father. She told Old Harbour News how her entrepreneurial spirit saw her venturing into selling household chemicals before plying bath and body products. When those did not work out according to plan, she set about doing a bit of backyard poultry farming but was left indebted after one dreadful error in judgement.

"The other day I spend how much money to try build a chicken business and a lady took the chickens and up till now [she hasn't paid],” she said, noting 100lbs of chicken were credited to the customer.

Yet still, Francis remains undaunted. Her new goal she said is to create a better environment for her daughter to prosper in, one that unfortunately she didn’t had.

“Right now I am seeking a piece of land," she disclosed after receiving approval from Food for the Poor seven years ago. The approval is still valid, but financially neither Francis nor her spouse is in the position to buy a plot of land. And finding land to lease has also been fruitless up to this point.

"That's where in my life right now I am seeking the help more than anything," she said with regards to securing a property, before adding: "And I would love a prosthetic leg.

"So it's the land and a prosthetic leg so I can actually get a home where I am 100% comfortable and able to be more mobile."

Cost for a prosthetic leg in Jamaica is about $750,000.

Another burning issue for Francis is that outside of her sister she knows nothing about her other sibling. She vividly recounted that her dad Wellesley Francis, who was living in St Thomas at the time he died, had a son named Nasir Francis. Nasir and his mother Venice Francis (who has remarried) migrated to the United States of America, she said. And so she never got the chance to build a bond with her brother.

"It has not been easy,” she said reflecting on her life since the accident which happened on Burke Road where she still lives.

“But what I think keeps me going is prayer. I'm a praying person.”

While she remains steadfast in her faith, Francis says she’s presently looking into how to start a job online after a cousin donated a tablet.

Hopefully it is a start of better things to come. 

Editor’s Note: If you would like to assist Carla call 876 212 8223.