Jess Quinn was just nine years old when she was diagnosed with cancer, which led to groundbreaking surgery to remove her leg and save her young life. Now the Kiwi amputee model explains how she’s using her traumatic experience to help others.
Jess Quinn never planned to be a big thing on Instagram – it “just happened”, as have so many things in her life. Beautiful, tall and with a mane of dark wavy hair, the camera loves her. She moves with a slow, easy grace. She is so graceful, in fact, that you’d be hard pressed to tell she walks with the aid of a prosthetic leg.
Jess lost her right leg to bone cancer when she was just nine years old. “I was fooling around with my sister, trying to stand on a ball when I fell off and fractured my femur.”
The femur is the largest, strongest bone in the body. It doesn’t fracture easily. In excruciating pain, she was taken to hospital, little realising this would be the beginning of a lifechanging journey. The break wouldn’t heal and four months later an MRI scan revealed cancer.
A gruelling round of chemotherapy followed and still the cancer remained. Eight months after the accident, she weighed just 18kg. Emotionally and physically exhausted, she was about to face an even tougher test. Doctors decided to perform a rare “rotationplasty” on the youngster. It was one of the first times such a surgery had been performed in this country. In a 14-hour operation, surgeons cut out the cancerous section of thigh bone, including the knee, then rotated Jess’ shin bone and foot and attached it to the hip. The heel then became a working knee. It was an extraordinary medical achievement and one that has allowed Jess to embrace life to the full because her new “knee” allows her a vastly improved range of movement.
The surgery, though, wasn’t the end of it. She still had to endure four more months of chemo to make sure the cancer was truly gone. She remembers Christmas Day of that year as her absolute low point. She was in hospital, surrounded by family and presents, but just didn’t have the strength to be interested in anyone or anything.
Denne historien er fra April 2018-utgaven av Australian Women’s Weekly NZ.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent ? Logg på
Denne historien er fra April 2018-utgaven av Australian Women’s Weekly NZ.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent? Logg på
BATTLE FOR THE THRONE
As word of a judgement leaks from the courtroom where the Murdochs have been tussling for power, those close to the throne suggest that the battle for the world’s most powerful media empire has only just begun.
AFTER THE WAVE
Twenty years ago, the Boxing Day tsunami tore across the Indian Ocean, shredding towns, villages and holiday resorts, and killing hundreds of thousands of people from Indonesia to Africa. Three survivors share their memories of shock, terror and loss with The Weekly.
Escape to the country
Raised in New Zealand, design icon Collette Dinnigan opens the doors to her family homestead, where treasures from her travels rest side by side with the sights, sounds and style of her Australian life.
Ripe for the picking
Apricots are at their peak sweetness now, take inspiration from our savoury and sweet ideas.
Grill-licious
The backyard barbecue has come a long way from the days of chargrilling some snags. Try our fresh batch of recipe inspiration for your next cook-up.
Reclaim your brain
Perimenopause made me realise that our brains need looking after.
Long and the short of it
If youre considering a chop and change, this is how to nail a hair transformation.
Have we lost the art of conversation?
In a world of thumbs-up emojis and one-way voice memos, are we forgetting how to converse? The Weekly engages in an experiment in listening and genuine two-way chatting.
Farewell, 1936-2024 Maggie T
At Lhe Weekly Maggie labberer was and remains our guiding light the epitome of elegance with a whip-smart intellect, naughty sense of fun and innate kindness. She was a one-off.
MEL SCHILLING Cancer made me look at myself differently
One year on from going public with her bowel cancer diagnosis, Mel Schilling reveals where she's at with her health journey and how it's changed her irrevocably.
