‘Disabled is a very degrading title. I’m an incredibly abled person...' These stars had to undergo amputations

Some well known people have had to undergo amputation procedures, due to terrible accidents or after being diagnosed with certain illnesses. However, this adversity has not stopped them from achieving their dreams and more. These stars are an inspiration to us all...

Milla Jovovich’s stunt double for ‘Resident Evil: The Last Chapter’, Olivia Jackson, suffered a near-fatal on-set accident while shooting the movie in 2015. The tragic events happened during the filming of a scene where she was expected to perform a motorcycle crash, in adverse weather, which went terribly wrong. As a result, Olivia had spine, eye, and rib injuries, and she lost one of her arms, which was amputated after she was placed in a medically induced coma.

Known for being one of the founding members of the band The Grateful Dead, Jerry Garcia had a terrible accident at the young age of five. The music star was helping his older brother shop wood, when he accidentally put his finger in the axe, losing two-thirds of his middle finger.

Black Sabbath guitarist Tony Iommi lost the tips of two of his fingers during a factory accident, when he was only 17 years old. He was affected by the tragic event that he even thought about giving up music. However, he found ways to help himself play the guitar, with the use of prosthetic fingertips made out of liquid soap bottles. The rest is history. His career in Ozzy Osbourne’s band speaks for itself.

Jazz music legend Ella Fitzgerald had major health issues caused by a diabetes diagnosis, to the extent of having both of her legs amputated in 1993. Ella, however, kept working for a couple years more, confined to a wheelchair. She passed away in 1996 at 79 from a stroke.

The actor known as Montgomery Scott in ‘Star Trek’ lost the middle finger of one of his hands during his time in the Army. The events took place during Second World War, where he took a bullet to his hand.

Def Leppard drummer Rick Allen was involved in a terrible car crash, while driving his Corvette in Sheffield, England, back in 1984. After losing control on a curve, he crashed his car into a wall. The near-fatal event resulted in the loss of his left arm. Did it prevent him from continuing with his music career? Not at all! In fact, he continued making music and embarked on world tours as a one-armed drummer!

Paralympic athlete and professional sprinter Oscar Pìstorius was born with fibular hemimelia, a congenital defect where the patient has a short or missing fibula. This resulted in the amputation of his feet when he was little. Oscar, however, had a successful sports career until 2013, year when he was accused of taking the life of his partner, model Reeva Steenkamp, a crime for which he was ultimately found guilty and sent to jail.

In 2011, five years prior to her passing, the movie star and Miss Hungary 1936 got her right leg amputated, due to an infection that could not be cured with medicines. Her husband Prince Frederic Von Anhalt once told The New York Post, that she did not notice what had happened until six months later. He said: "She couldn't feel it because [one] hand is paralyzed and [one] hand was too short to go on it."

Model and media personality suffered a terrible accident back in 1993. While she was walking in the streets of London, she was hit by a police motorcycle driver, who was responding to an emergency call. Mills suffered from severe lung injuries, as well as crashed ribs, and lost the bottom half of her leg, below the knee. In an interview with Event magazine, Paul McCartney’s ex made it clear she takes things with humor. She said: "I'm not embarrassed about my leg — in fact a good chat-up line from me is, ‘How do you fancy massaging my stump?’”

American athlete Bethany Hamilton lost one of her arms after being attacked by a shark at the age of 13, during a surfing session in Hawaii. When she arrived to the hospital she had also lost 60% of her blood. However, she has never given up and hasn’t stopped surfing, although she has admitted she has to put a little bit more effort in her legs while doing so, as she only has strength in one arm. In an interview with The Guardian she once said: “I think disabled is a very degrading title for athletes. I feel like I’m an incredibly abled person.”