story by: dave king

Eight years ago, Hope Gordon, wracked with pain in her left leg, took the ​incredible decision to have it amputated. When NHS doctors initially refused to ​remove the leg, the Scottish teenager resorted to crowd-funding to have a ​private operation.

Then aged 16, Hope had a neurological condition called Complex Regional Pain ​Syndrome, the result of severe pain in her limb for almost a decade. She was ​wheelchair-bound, and her quality of life was poor.

“The pain was constant,” said Hope, recalling how the condition had been ​triggered one day at school when she had a sore knee and since then had found ​walking very difficult.

Speaking on ITV’s Good Morning Britain, she said: “I tried every other treatment ​that was offered to me. I tried absolutely everything, and nothing really worked.

“The pain started in my knee and would spread down to my foot. It was hyper-​sensitive the whole time. I couldn’t touch my own leg. My foot was fused in the ​wrong position, my knee didn’t bend, it was just agony.

“Even just going out in public, if someone knocked it, I would be in agony for ​ages.”

With no cure on offer, Hope plucked up the courage to ask doctors about taking ​the most extreme of options – amputation. Doctors told her this was not ​recommended because of potential complications. But, instead, Hope and her ​family set up a crowd-funding page, raising £10,000 to go private for the ​operation.

Hope recalled: “I went into the operation with the mindset that if I wake up in ​pain and without the leg, but I’m able to get up and do more, then I’ve still got ​more quality of life.

“For me, it wasn’t so much about the pain, it was about my life. I wanted a better ​quality of life. I was used to living in pain and didn’t know what it was like to live ​without pain. So, the fact that the pain has now gone is a massive bonus.”

Fast forward to 2024, Paris and the Paralympics with Hope, who is a member of ​East Sutherland Rotary Club in the Scottish Highlands, standing on the victory ​rostrum proudly clutching a silver medal from the Para-canoe programme.

In the grand setting of the Vaires-sur-Marne Nautical Stadium, 20 miles east of ​the French capital, Hope finished second in the VL3 final, as well as placing fifth ​in the KL3 final.

Para-canoeing encompasses two boats, the kayak (KL) and va'a (VL). The ​Paralympic kayak has a wider bottom than the Olympic equivalent for greater ​stability, with athletes using a double-bladed paddle. The va’a has an outrigger ​attached to one side of the boat to help balance where a single-blade paddle is ​used.

Hope finished second behind British team-mate Charlotte Henshaw in the VL3 ​final. “Winning a medal is fantastic, but knowing my family and friends were ​there supporting me means more than any gold medal,” she said.

Speaking immediately after the final, Hope added: “Whatever way around it was, ​we wanted those two top spots so badly. I am so proud that we were able to do ​that.

“Charlotte has been such a pivotal part of my journey. She is a phenomenal ​athlete but an even better friend and I couldn't be happier to be on the podium ​with her.”

And when she took to social media, Hope said: “Just turned my phone back on. ​Completely blown away by the support. Paralympic medallist. Thank you ​everyone, you guys are the best.”

Since having her leg amputated above the knee, Hope graduated with a 2.1 ​Honours degree in Sport and Exercise Science from Edinburgh Napier University ​in 2018, and she has used sport as a focus moving forward.

Hope recalled watching the Paralympics in Beijing while in hospital and being ​inspired by the sport. “The Paralympics have always been super special to me,” ​she reflected in a Channel 4 documentary. “They have always been a pivotal ​thing.”

How ironic then that in 2022, Hope became Paralympic GB’s first ever female ​Para Nordic skier by competing at the Beijing 2022 Paralympic Winter Games. ​Hope, who lives in the village of Rogart, was introduced to the sport in 2021 after ​the end of the Para-canoe season.

However, Para-canoeing remains her main sport; a member of Forth Canoe Club ​in Scotland, and working with coach Matt Lawrence at the National Water Sports ​Centre in Nottingham.

Hope was in fine form leading up to the Games after winning double silver at the ​2024 World Championships, in Szeged, Hungary. In 2023, in Duisburg, Germany, ​she won her first world title, having captured a VL3 silver at the 2022 World ​Championships in Halifax, Canada.

She juggles training with teaching swimming at swim schools in Nottingham and ​Loughborough, close to where she trains, which she says she absolutely loves. “I ​do this sport because I love it. Because we compete over a short distance – 200 ​metres – it is very much a strength, power, sprint event, so you have to be ​strong.

“I spent years thinking there was no light at the end of the tunnel, but I kept on ​going. I kept on pushing and eventually realised that as you get nearer from this ​very dim light something is shining really bright.”

Hope has been closely connected with Rotary for a number of years. She has ​spoken at a district conference and been closely linked with East Sutherland ​Rotary Club as an associate member.

She joined as a full member just before the Paralympics. During her time with ​the club, Hope and mother Rona have been involved with the Rotary club’s ​RotaKids programme and serving as ambassadors.

Club member Alistair Risk explained that the club has been a keen supporter of ​Hope with her sporting ambitions. He said: “The Rotary Club of East Sutherland ​discovered that Hope needed a spare set of paddles to take as hand luggage in ​case the main set were lost in transport—so the club sponsored the purchase of ​that set.

“Just a little act that makes a difference - like so much which Rotary does.”