MAY Gerald realised she could still dance at a family celebration - despite narrowly avoiding having her foot amputated. 

The 58 year-old, who lives in Hillingdon, has soul singer Luther Vandross to thank for getting her back on her feet, along with a little help from hospital consultant Lorenzo Patrone.

May first realised something was wrong while holidaying in Greece. An ulcer appeared on her big toe and her foot began to ache.

She went to hospital for treatment but a week later her toe turned blue and then black, prompting medical experts to amputate four toes on her left foot.

The mother of two said: “I was really frightened I was going to lose my leg above the knee because I have two relatives who lost their lower legs to amputation through diabetes.”

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Lorenzo Patrone, a vascular and interventional radiologist at Northwick Park Hospital, carried out the three-hour procedure to save her foot, guiding a mirco-wire down the main artery to the affected area.

Dr Patrone said: “We entered the artery through a small puncture wound in the groin, but it was incredibly difficult to navigate as the vessels had been reduced to a diameter of 2mm.

“The patient would have lost her lower leg eventually, so it was a case of painstakingly probing and re-routing until we could navigate an alternative passage, which reconnected the blood supply to her entire foot.”

Thousands of people in the UK have lower limbs amputated every year because of the condition called Peripheral Arterial Disease (PAD).

It claims more lives than breast and prostate cancer put together.