I'm still standing

Amy Zahra slings a green handbag stuffed with university papers over her shoulders and, crutches in hand, attempts to negotiate the potholes in the pavement.

Flashing a welcoming smile the 22-year-old mechanical engineering student hoists herself onto the high stool unaided, and crosses her jeans-clad legs, revealing her new dark blue leather pumps.

"It's so exciting to be going shopping for shoes. I bought three pairs of these pumps in blue, black and red - they're perfect because they're not too flat," she said, waving to a friend.

Ms Zahra is back on the university scene one year after contracting the deadly meningococcal septicaemia on February 16, 2006. She emerged from hospital in May scarred and wounded, her legs amputated below the knee and with stubs for fingers.

Her plight was first featured in The Times' monthly magazine Pink in May and the improvement she has made since is nothing short of a miracle.

When she was discharged from hospital she was laying motionless on a makeshift bed. Her legs were heavily bandaged, while her fingers were raw flesh.

Now, after tough months of regular physiotherapy and daily exercises Ms Zahra is getting her life back to 'normal', happy to replace the wheelchair with clutches... and soon she hopes to do away with these as well .

"Sometimes I look back on the whole incident and feel it was just a bad nightmare. I just cannot believe I actually survived the whole trauma," she said, lifting the glass with ease and taking a sip of her ice-tea.

"I would lie on the hospital bed wondering if I could ever move again or if I would be able to lift a glass."

Last May, Ms Zahra could not even reach out for her mobile phone and until last August taking a bath without help was impossible. Today she has regained most of her independence - she can write neatly and she is slowly mastering walking with her prosthetic limbs.

She hopes to get silicone prosthesis for her legs from the UK in the summer, a move which will greatly improve her quality of life. She would like to get her prosthetic fingers one day, but prefers to spend the money on getting her legs first.

Every morning she wakes up at 6.30 a.m. to shower and get ready; one hour before her close friend Anton Magro, whom she affectionately calls Panda, picks her up from her home in Marsaxlokk.

"If I leave the shoes on the prosthetic legs the night before and manage to slip out of my jeans, without taking them off the limbs, then I manage to get ready much quicker," she said, laughing heartily at the image her words conjured.

Every day is packed with small challenges which Ms Zahra has to surmount, but she faces each one with a brave determination to succeed.

"At the moment I am focusing on getting rid of my clutches. I also want to be able to order a drink from the bar and walk back to my seat with it. These are the achievements of the moment," she said.

These little steps are all in preparation for the gigantic stride she plans to take in March next year - walking part of the Great Wall of China for charity.

"I'm scared at the thought of it because at the moment even a short walk tires me out. I need to learn how to walk properly again and build my muscles.

"The frustrating thing is that before I'd be able to dash to class at the last minute, now I have to plan well ahead. But I won't give up; it's my goal," she said tucking into her bruschetta.

Is she eating healthier since the incident?

"I was always health-conscious, but now I'm also taking vitamins to supplement my diet."

Her parents, Ray and Jane, who were last year advised to make funeral arrangements for their daughter, are ecstatic to witness her improvement.

"The other day my mum and I went for a coffee without lugging the wheelchair around - it was just like the old days," she said.

There are times when she feels down and whenever this happens she leafs through her red book where friends and family have penned encouraging words - it always succeeds in lifting her spirits.

She refuses to wallow in self-pity for long and is very sensitive to the fact that if her morale is down she'll end up worrying those around her, which was just not worth it.

She also looks to Pauline Cassar, a 45-year-old woman who went through an identical experience, for comfort and hope. Ms Cassar has been a mentor and a tremendous encouragement in times of self-doubt.

"Pauline has been a fountain of courage and hope," she said.

Has she changed her life since the incident?

"It's funny, when I was laying in hospital I yearned for the routine of going to university, being at home and watching TV. But time heals everything and you have to be careful what you wish for because now I think the routine is boring," she said laughing at the irony of life.Ms Zahra was dreading the first anniversary from the day when meningococcal septicaemia tried to rob her of her life.

However, she plans to throw a big bash tomorrow to celebrate the miracle of life.

"I look forward to graduating, getting married and having children... but I need to be able to learn how to bend down to pick them up first," she said, her trademark smile lightening up her face.