Amor Armitage makes 'miraculous' recovery after accident

Amor Armitage said it was a “miracle” to be alive following the horrific ordeal on December 17, 2022, after her leg and abdomen were cut by the propeller of a boat while she was on a dream holiday with her husband Chase, a stunt performer from Basingstoke.

The 38-year-old, who has been documenting her recovery over the last year on social media, has undergone seven operations following the accident.

READ MORE: Basingstoke yoga teacher suffers horrific injuries in boat accident

She spoke to the Gazette a year after the nightmare ordeal and said: “All the doctors have said it’s been a miraculous recovery.”

Amor was snorkelling and free diving with Chase and some friends when the accident happened.

Deciding she wanted to get out of the water to warm up, Amor swam to the boat to climb the ladder.

But when she tried to climb out, the boat started moving, causing the propeller to hit her abdomen, genitals and legs.

Following the accident, Amor was taken to hospital in Mexico where she had emergency, life-saving surgery to close the wounds and remove a piece of broken bone from her leg.

She has had a further six operations and 14 blood transfusions, being cared for in the early weeks in an intensive care unit.

One doctor advised Amor she would be better to have a prosthetic leg.

SEE ALSO: 'My body feels mutilated' - Basingstoke yoga teacher describes terrifying moment she is sliced by boat propeller 

But against all odds and with an incredible determination to recover, Amor is now back home in Basingstoke and has even been able to resume teaching some of her yoga classes with Yoga Blissipline in the town.

“It’s pretty good that I can continue to teach yoga, because that was my main concern was whether I was able to do yoga again,” she said.

Amor has shown incredible determination during the last 12 months to recover from her injuries, saying her mental strength and meditation have helped her through.

“I think since the beginning I felt it was the meditation that really helped me. I could have fainted or frozen when it happened but I had to go into survival mode and get myself safe,” she said, recalling the terrifying moment she was cut by the propeller.

She added: “I guess the greatest lesson for me was when I was fearful of what would happen because of all the things I was told would go wrong I looked outside of myself to find answers.

“The fear made me forget what I already knew and I went into panic mode and feeling ‘who can help me, I need help’.

“When I had the appointment with the doctor who said I would be better with a prosthetic leg, I thought ‘this is what I need to hear to take charge of my own feelings’.

“I started doing all the things I know how to do like meditate. That was really hard because when there’s so much pain it’s hard not to be overwhelmed by that pain. I had to find new ways. I now have to focus on something else - do guided meditation, do stretches.”

Doctors advised Amor to wear a brace around her leg during the day and at night, but she refused, explaining: “I know my body and I’m aware of what I need and I knew to recover my strength and mobility I needed to awaken that leg because it was very dormant. I had to continue to move. There was one doctor who told me ‘you are young and strong, do what you need to do’.”

She added: “The biggest learning was to learn how to trust in myself again when I felt weak and lost and depressed. It was such a change in my whole life. I teach yoga and I’m really healthy and I knew everything was changing.”

Amor praised her husband, Chase – a parkour stunt specialist who has appeared in various films – for his support and positivity, saying: “When I felt hopeless, he would help me recover my hope. It was so hard to be in this body. There have been many great lessons and I would never want to feel like a victim.”

She is now hoping to raise awareness of the dangers of boat propellers, saying: “There weren’t any safety measures on that diving trip. Sometimes I wonder if the captain if he’s still working for the same company. He probably went through the same, if not more, trauma than I did. I won’t press any charges but I want to create change so that propeller protectors are compulsory. I wonder why they are not being used when there are so many accidents.

“Yes, of course I know there is danger in going in the sea and there can be so many dangers, but nobody explained to me what could happen and the safety measures. I was only told by the captain that when I wanted to come out of the water to lift my arm. But when I lifted my arm, he was facing away from me.”

She added: “I don’t know yet how to do it, but I want to start a campaign so there’s change in the way people are taken on these trips and don’t end up in accidents like this.

"People have reached out to me and said they know someone who it happened to. If there’s anything that could come from this experience it’s hopefully to make a change and bring awareness to what really happened.”

For more information on Amor’s yoga classes visit yogabasingstoke.com.