A teenage athlete who had his leg amputated after a lump from a rugby tackle turned out to be an aggressive bone cancer has learned to “stay positive whatever life throws at you”. Oliver Liddle, 19, a full-time gym instructor who lives with his father, Steve, 49, stepmother Abby, 42, brother Max, 22, and stepbrother Louis, 10, in Whitley Bay, North Tyneside, faced his first brush with the disease at the age of seven when his mother, Kerrie, died from breast cancer.
Throughout his childhood, Oliver enjoyed playing sport such as athletics and football but at the age of 12 a normal tackle on the rugby pitch left him with a pain in his leg which would not disappear for around a week, before a lump began to form on his knee. Thinking he could “run it off”, Oliver’s symptoms persisted and he was soon diagnosed with bone cancer before undergoing a nine-month course of chemotherapy.
Presented with two options during his treatment to save his life and stop the “aggressive” cancer from spreading – removing the cancer with reconstructive surgery which would stunt his growth or amputation – Oliver bravely chose the latter but he remained determined to run again and return to the sports he loves. After working hard to regain strength and muscle at the gym, Oliver won gold at the British Championships of Para Powerlifting in 2021 at the age of 16 before going on to secure bronze at the World Championships in Georgia the same year.
Now, in a bid to mentor other young people who have lost a limb during their return to sports, Oliver has become a qualified gym instructor and launched his own fitness business, named Unlimbited, in 2023. “Never give up, that’s something I’ve always told myself no matter how hard it gets,” Oliver told PA Real Life.
“No matter what life throws at you, stay positive, stay determined and don’t let it get you down too much.” Oliver was just seven years old when his mother died aged 42 from breast cancer in 2012. “She’s a massive motivation to me now, everything I do is in respect for her and I want to honour her memory,” he said.
Five years later, having developed a passion for rugby, Oliver was playing a match with his local team, Rockcliff Rugby Club, when a normal tackle left him with pain in his right leg. “I landed on my right knee, I thought, ‘I’ll just run it off’, but it didn’t go away,” Oliver said.I noticed there was a lump starting to form as well.”
His father took him to their local GP who referred Oliver for an X-Ray at the Royal Victoria Infirmary in Newcastle, before he had further scans and a biopsy on his knee. Following this, Oliver was diagnosed with osteosarcoma in his right leg, saying the “aggressive” cancer was at the top of his tibia and fibula where it later spread towards his lower leg and knee.
Upon receiving his diagnosis, Oliver said he thought “why would this happen?”. “We had already been hit with a curve ball with my mum passing, I thought why should I get this now?” he said.
Oliver pressed on with treatment however, undergoing a nine-month course of intensive chemotherapy – but after the first four months, he was presented with a decision to save his life. “The cancer was very aggressive, my consultants told me that they needed to act fast to either get rid of the limb or extract the cancer,” Oliver said.
The first option was an above-the-knee amputation, and the second was an operation to remove the cancer from his leg followed by reconstructive surgery to place a metal pin in his knee, which would stunt his growth. ” I would be stuck at five foot nothing for forever,” he said.“The only positive from it would be that it would salvage the leg.”
At the age of 13, Oliver decided to opt for amputation and he spent a few days in the intensive care unit before being sent home to rest. “It was weird looking at myself in the mirror, I got some phantom pain but otherwise I was in high spirits as the cancer was gone,” he said.Oliver continued the rest of his chemotherapy treatment and he was given the all-clear in February 2019.
A once active teenager, Oliver was desperate and determined to get back in shape. “I was very weak, very frail and I had no muscle anymore,” he said.“I was just so determined to get back into sport, I always wanted to be able to run again – I wasn’t going to give up.”
After learning how to walk using a basic prosthetic, Oliver built up his muscle strength by going to the gym, supported by his personal trainer and close friend Steve Sharp at North Tyneside Barbells – and he was later able to acquire a running prosthetic to allow him to take on the track.
Oliver started to get into weightlifting and athletics, and at the age of 16, in 2021, he secured gold representing Team GB at the British Championships for Para Powerlifting before he then secured bronze at the World Championships the same year in Tbilisi, Georgia. Thinking ahead to his future, Oliver started to work at his local gym before he thought about undertaking a career as a gym instructor – wanting to put his experience to use to help other young amputees get back into sport.
Studying with Sportsability for his Active IQ gym instructor qualification and now for his Level 3 Personal Trainer qualification, Oliver has been able to launch his own business named Unlimbited, where he coaches and mentors young people and adults who have lost a limb. “I wanted to try and make something of myself, I wanted to help people and give back,” Oliver said.
“I wanted to be that person who can say to others, ‘it’s not the end, you can still train, you can still focus on your goals, you can keep going’.”
To find out more about Unlimbited, visit Oliver’s Instagram page here: instagram.com/unlimbited_