A student nurse who learnt to walk again after losing the use of her left leg has received royal recognition at Buckingham Palace.

Wiltshire 25-year-old Emily Palmer was in and out of hospital for two years and had to have her calf bone removed after medical complications.  

But the Oxford Brookes University student nurse fought against the odds to achieve the gold Duke of Edinburgh award and was invited to the palace to tell the story of her road to recovery at a celebration event hosted by Prince Edward.

Emily, from Marlborough, said: “It was a very difficult time for me, but I was cared for by qualified nurses who were incredibly compassionate and professional and had trained at Oxford Brookes University.

“I realised that I could use my experiences to help other people and the nurses who cared for me inspired me to enrol on a nursing course at Oxford Brookes. When I started the nursing course I was on crutches.”

While enjoying her BSc (Hons) adult hursing course, Emily decided she wanted to complete her DofE gold award.  

“It took six years for me to decide I wanted to finish the gold award," she said. "I left it quite close to the deadline as you have to complete all of the activities before you are 25.” 

Emily did not let her injury stop her from completing the tough expedition, comprising eight hours of activity every day for four days.  

“We were in the Brecon Beacons in Wales," she said. "It was very challenging. I used walking aids and had a massive brace on my leg. Every night I was so glad to not have to take one step further, but every day I managed to keep going. 

“I loved talking with other people doing Duke of Edinburgh about how different our experiences had been. Despite all our different journeys, they all led to the same destination - completing our gold award.

“We had amazing conversations around the biggest philosophical questions while sheltering from a storm. The expedition puts you in an unusual situation with people you’ve never met before. You had to get to know each other very quickly.”

Emily is a month away from finishing her course and will soon be working in a nursing role in hospitals in the region. 

She added: “I’m really passionate about trying to improve patient experiences and I really want to use my experience to make things better for people when they need healthcare.”