By Gary Chappell
TWO years ago a surgeon told Rita Trotter she would probably spend the rest of her life on crutches, never work as a Personal Trainer again and never return to bodybuilding.
This season she has won her NABBA Pro Card, the PCA Universe qualifier overall and the overall titles at the IBFA Liverpool and BPA Masters AllStars.
But make no mistake, Trotter's achievements have come in the face of serious adversity. That devastating medical ordeal left her with paralysis from the knee down in both legs.
"I had cervical cancer about five years ago now," she told FrontDouble. "So I get annual checks just to make sure everything is OK.
"The blood tests came back a bit funny in July 2024, so they did a cervical biopsy. Everything was fine. No cancer. All in remission."
The biopsy itself, however, led to complications.
"The biopsy caused an infection," she said. "The infection spread to my kidneys. The kidneys shut down."
What followed would change her life for ever.
"When the kidneys shut down, your whole body fills with fluid," she said. "My lower legs filled with fluid. It's called compartment syndrome. It crushed all the muscle and nerves. They couldn't save it.
"So both of my legs, from the knee down, have no muscle and no nerves. My feet are paralysed. I can't feel them."
It means every step she takes – both on stage and in everyday life – has to be relearned and carefully managed.
"So I'm only moving and posing by practice," she said. "I can feel knee up. I know what my quads are doing. But I have no idea where my feet are. I'm having to guess because I can't feel the stage."
The injury has forced changes most competitors never have to think about.
"I can't wear heels anymore at all," she said. "I can't move my feet."
Despite being officially registered disabled, Trotter refuses to allow the label to define her.
"I'm registered disabled now," she said. "But I can beat able-bodied people. It [her disability] doesn't show. Most people don't even notice."
Watching Trotter win the overall title at the NABBA South East last month, FrontDouble was surprised to learn she was registered disabled when the subject came up during an on-stage interview.
The evidence of what happened is visible – but you have to really look for it. Scars run down her lower legs where surgeons removed damaged tissue following the compartment syndrome.
"That's what the big scars are," she said. "That's where they took all the muscle and nerves out. There's nothing down there."
Yet perhaps the most remarkable part of Trotter's story is not what happened to her, but how she responded.
"The surgeon said, 'You'll never train. You'll never be a PT again. You'll never bodybuild. You'll probably be on crutches for the rest of your life.'
"And I went: 'Screw you. Not having it.'"
That attitude has carried her back on to the bodybuilding stage.
Ironically, one of the biggest dilemmas she faced after returning to competition was whether to compete in disability categories at all.
"When we started looking at shows this year, coach suggested disabled categories," she said.
"And I said that's hollow. It's really hollow to me. I'm up against people who are amputees, blind or have severe disabilities.
"With all due respect, they're nowhere near my level physically. I don't want to do a competition for the sake of a hollow medal. What's the point?
"Why line your walls with medals that mean nothing? I want to win against able-bodied competitors."
That determination recently led to one of her proudest achievements.
"I just beat my coach," she said, after winning the NABBA South East overall title. "That, to me, is a huge achievement.
Away from the stage, everyday life still requires adaptations. Trotter relies on specialist splints attached to her shoes to walk normally.
"Those plastic things you can see coming out of my shoes are splints," she said. "In normal life, you walk heel-to-toe. I can't do that because I can't move my feet.
"So the splints lift my feet for me and move them as if I was walking normally."
Yet throughout the interview, there is little self-pity. Instead, there is acceptance. And perhaps more importantly, perspective.
"The thing I've told people is I'm no longer trying to be the old me," she said. "I'm just trying to be the best version of the new me. And whatever I do now, I try to see it as a positive.
"How can I use this to show people that disability doesn't mean you stop doing stuff?"
For many athletes, losing the ability to feel both feet would have marked the end of a bodybuilding career.
For Rita Trotter, it became the start of a different one.
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