To give you an idea of the level of personal trauma she has had to overcome, at 19, she was diagnosed with bone cancer, which resulted in prolonged treatment involving chemo and radiotherapy and several operations to remove parts of her right leg and eventually the bulk of it. At the time,Vicki, was an aspiring sports coach training at Leeds Carnegie College - her dreams had to be put on hold. In addition to the life-changing effects of the amputation, the treatment left her with hearing loss and damage to her kidneys but what was most galling of all was the bombshell revelation that her bone cancer had been initially misdiagnosed.

In short, the chemo, the amputation, the resulting health issues, which she bares to this day, had all been unnecessary.
 

In the autumn of 2016, while recovering from ligament reconstruction on her ankle, she decided to attempt the Aspire Channel Pool Swim (the equivalent distance of the English Channel) and on the back of it, she was invited to join a team to make a real attempt on the English Channel. But tragedy struck again after she was diagnosed with breast cancer in late 2016. Horrifyingly, the specter of her misdiagnosis at 19 came back to haunt her, after doctors said the disease could have been caused by the initial radiotherapy.

Vicki says. “I take the view that I’m still here so I have to carry on, to make the most of it “ Training for the Channel swim was an uphill struggle but it’s one she embraced with vigor and enthusiasm and in August last year went on to swim in a relay across the channel to raise money for charities close to her heart. She’s a phenomenal individual who certainly earns the nickname “Wonder Woman”