Kelly says she ‘fell like Bambi’ and knew instantly she had badly injured herself
A bride broke both feet ‘falling like Bambi’ at her hen do leaving her having to wear a ‘big robot foot’ down the aisle. Kelly Watts was set to marry her now husband Tony Watts, 42, this year after meeting on a night out in Whitstable, Kent, ten years ago.
Four weeks before the wedding, the 46-year-old rented out an Airbnb in Lincoln for her hen party to celebrate with her friends and family. After spending the first evening partying, the group opted for a wholesome Mamma Mia dance class on the Saturday afternoon.
But moments before they began learning the routine, Kelly fell off the garden decking at the house – sending both her ankles in different directions ‘like Bambi’. The mum-of-four said she knew instantly she had badly injured herself as her feet ‘doubled in size’ and began to bruise.
But, determined to enjoy the rest of her hen weekend, Kelly put on a brave face and sat with ice packs on her feet. It was only when she woke up the next morning and was in even more pain, she decided to go to Northampton General Hospital in Northamptonshire to get her injuries checked out.
Following an X-ray, it was confirmed that she had chipped two bones in her right foot and chipped one bone and fractured another in her left. Kelly was then handed a pair of crutches and had a boot put on her left foot, which she was later told she would have to wear on her big day.
Sadly, this meant the teaching assistant can be seen sporting the leg brace under her white dress in all her wedding snaps. Looking back at the photos Kelly admits they upset her as her boot sticks out in all of them, but hopes one day she’ll be able to laugh about her hen do injury.
Kelly, from Northampton, said: “I took a selfie with my best friend, started to warm up and then realised I still had my phone in my hand. “I stepped up onto the decking to put my phone on the table. As I turned around to walk back to the garden, I thought there was more decking than there was and I confidently walked off it.
“I was a bit like Bambi and both of my ankles went in the opposite direction. I fell to the ground and all my friends ran over. I took my shoes off and my feet just blew up like a balloon and doubled in size. They were black and blue within a few days.
“[After getting my boot and crutches], I had to go back to the fracture clinic a week later for an MRI and this is when they told me there was a lot of damage. They said I couldn’t wear the heels and had to wear the boot. I had tears in my eyes. Everyone kept saying to me, ‘at least the dress will cover your feet’ but it actually finished half way up my leg to show off the heels I was meant to wear.
“When I look back at my wedding day, I do smile about it as everything was perfect and everyone said how good it was. But, when I look at the pictures, I must admit that there is a part of me that is gutted [about my boot]. The pictures are beautiful but the boot really sticks out.”
Before her wedding day, Kelly admits she cried at her final dress fitting after seeing herself in the mirror wearing the ‘robot’ boot. Kelly said: “I had lost a bit of weight leading up to the wedding so the dress needed to be taken in. When I looked in the mirror, the dress looked a lot better as I had lost the weight but then I looked down at my foot and I did cry as it just didn’t look as dainty or pretty.
“It was a big robot foot and it was very different to what I expected to be wearing. I got upset and then frustrated and then I knew I needed to snap out of it and just enjoy my wedding.”
The day after their wedding, Kelly and Tony jetted off to Fuerteventura in Spain for a five-day honeymoon. Kelly says they had a wonderful time away but her injury boot did disrupt their trip as she couldn’t swim in the pool or sea and struggled to walk along the beach.
And despite getting her boot removed at the end of September, she says she is still in pain as her foot is weak. Kelly said: “I’ve been told to be careful with it as it’s weak and I still have a chipped bone. I’ve kept the heels so I can wear them for my first anniversary or if we renew our vows.”
Tony, Kelly’s husband, said she looked beautiful when they got married but worried about her being in pain all day. Tony said: “In the build-up I could sense her worry about our big day and how it would impact on what she wanted, but I knew we would make the best of the situation and I couldn’t wait to marry her.
“The day itself was perfect and Kelly looked beautiful, the boot only entered my thoughts when I could see she was in pain but she just kept powering through and didn’t let it hold her back. I couldn’t have been prouder.”
