Amputee girl, 12, is a 'trailblazer' on the football pitch after birthday cancer diagnosis

Amputee girl, 12, is a 'trailblazer' on the football pitch after birthday cancer diagnosis EXCLUSIVE: Millie Blair was diagnosed with caner on the day of her 11th birthday and eventually had to have her leg amputated. But the inspiring young girl is emerging as a rising star on the football pitch Leading the kick off at the launch of a brand new women's football team, 12-year-old Millie Blair passes the ball to ex-Lioness Izzy Papandronicou. A 28-year-old World Cup striker and a schoolgirl may sound like a mis-match, but both these exceptional athletes - like the rest of the team - are amputees. And Millie's drive is exceptional, considering she had her left leg amputated on January 13 2025, only finishing her chemotherapy in July 2025 and her immunotherapy in November. Running over with enthusiasm for her side, Cambridge City FC Amputee Team, she says: "I've met so many wonderful players. I've been inspired by all of them. "I feel accepted and like 'normal' among the girls. Everywhere I go I feel like the odd one out now that everyone looks at my bionic leg, but with these other girls, I feel the same." Izzy, who scored 4 goals at the 2024 inaugural Amputee Women’s World Cup in Colombia, started the team in May. She says: "We are all so thrilled to have Millie on the team. She is a fantastic footballer and shows other young girls that anything is possible if you put your mind to it. I can't wait for people to see the trailblazer she is." Already a keen footballer, it was after a match in August 2024 that Millie and her parents first realised something was wrong. Millie, who lives with mum Gemma, 44, and dad Gordon, 49, who both work in the police force, and her older sister Jessica, 16, in Oundle, Northamptonshire, was playing in a football match for Oundle Girls Football Football Team in August 2024, when she hurt her leg in a tackle. Gemma says: "She came off the pitch and iced it, and we thought it was just a muscle strain. But she carried on limping for weeks afterwards. We took her for physiotherapy and she was given stretches to do. She managed to keep on playing football matches. But it didn't get any better." Taking Millie back to the GP, she was referred for an X-ray. It looked like a break on top of a previous break. But the radiologist wasn't happy, as Millie’s parents said she hadn't had another break. And further scans revealed devastating news. Gemma says: "The GP called me. They told me that she had cancer. We couldn't believe it, it was such a shock and completely out of the blue. We thought that it had been just a football injury, and now we were being told that it was cancer. "It was the day of her 11th birthday too, on October 2 2024. It was terrible news to be told on any day, especially on her birthday. Millie was incredibly brave." Millie chips in: "Being diagnosed with cancer on my 11th birthday was such a shock to me and my family, and it really was the worst birthday present I could ever have." Instead of going to Birmingham Children's Hospital later that day for it to be confirmed, Gemma and Gordon thought it was best for Millie to enjoy her planned birthday treat - watching Mamma Mia in London. Gemma says: "It allowed us a few hours of respite from getting such bad news." The day after they went to the hospital, where it was confirmed that Millie had osteosarcoma. An aggressive bone cancer, it is the most common type in children and young adults - typically developing in long bones near the knees, hips, or shoulders during growth spurts. Starting chemotherapy immediately, she was visited in hospital by amputee Lioness Annabel Kiki, 17, who lost her left leg at the age of 13 to bone cancer and is now part of the Cambridge team. Millie says: "Annabel always gave me so much strength to carry on." Sadly, after finishing chemotherapy and immunotherapy, doctors discovered that the tumour had spread around Millie's leg bone and was worse than they'd anticipated. They had hoped just to remove the tumour, but had to tell Millie and her parents that the only option was to amputate her left leg, to give her the best possible chance of survival. Millie says: "I asked everyone not to talk about it for an hour. I just needed that time to take it all in. It was difficult to comprehend how I was to go from having surgery to remove the tumour, to losing my leg. "But I said to Mum and Dad, 'There is no point crying about it.'" With people like Izzy Papandronicou - who had her left leg amputated aged 14, after spending 12 agonising years with a broken leg that wouldn't heal properly - as role models, Millie made a remarkable recovery. After surgery on January 13, 2025, she even named her stump 'Little Dave' after the hospital anaesthetist. And, within a few months, she was riding a horse and playing amputee football. Gemma says: "She has always faced this in an amazing and resilient way. We are massively proud of her. She's had ten operations in total and spent 130 nights in hospital." Cancer-free since last December, Gemma says of Millie: "She isn't letting anything stop her or hold her back." Meanwhile, Izzy has big plans for Cambridge City FC, and wants them to play in a European league against countries such as Poland. She says: "I have started the first women's amputee club level team in the UK under Cambridge City FC, with their support and the support of our coach Duncan Rumbelow. "My vision is to get as many women and girls involved as possible in a fun, inclusive environment and spread the joy football can bring. "It is so important for disabled women to have a positive outlet for their physical and mental health and we have created a space that allows you into a family of girls that have all had very difficult but similar experiences in life." And Millie looks set to be a shining star. Of her ordeal, she says: "I hope to put it all behind me, and just concentrate on playing football with the rest of the amputee football team. They are all such lovely girls." To help with team sponsorship contact [email protected]