Amputee Christabell Drayton celebrates life at Grande 5K

AMPUTEE Christabell Drayton, 39, celebrated life on Thursday by competing in her first ever 5K race, the annual Sweaters 5K Fun Run/Walk, in Sangre Grande.

Drayton, who lost her left leg to cancer at age seven, completed the event on crutches, urged on by her boyfriend and stunned onlookers.

As she made her way through the heart of Sangre Grande, spectators applauded her and gave her words of encouragement.

“You can do it. Keep going!” they shouted.

Drayton, no stranger to overcoming challenges, maintained her steady pace to finish, even ahead of more able-bodied participants, in one hour and four minutes.

As she crossed the finish line to rapturous applause at Ojoe Road Recreation Ground, Drayton smiled and soaked in the adulation.

“What excuse I could have?” one man was heard saying on the pavement.

“It was good. It was a good run – walk,” a beaming Drayton told Sunday Newsday.

She added, “This is my first 5K. I just beat cancer (for a second time).”

She said her boyfriend Occie Pierre, a fitness enthusiast, encouraged her to take part.

Her training for the event began inadvertently when she was simply being a supportive girlfriend to Pierre, who was taking part in a fitness challenge.

“We started going to the gym together; walking around Eddie Hart (Savannah) to build stamina.”

As her fitness began to improve, her boyfriend told her he believed she could take part in a 5K herself.

She said he instilled confidence in her and she too began to believe.

“He kept coaching me. I never even thought about trying it, and then he pushed me to finish it.”

Drayton said the race is now the first of many and she wants to take part in the annual UWI Half-Marathon later this year.

Few will bet against Drayton, whose positive mindset and determination has augured well for her.

Last year, Drayton was again diagnosed with cancer, this time in her breast.

“I started to notice something was wrong in late 2021. It was a lump, really small. Didn’t look like anything. Looked like a bug bite. It then started to get bigger.”

While many would have felt overwhelmed and distraught by another monumental hurdle, Drayton took a different mindset.

“It was very difficult. To be honest, at first I was like, ‘Oh gosh. I feel like I did my penance already. I have to do this again?’ And then I was like, yuh know what, yuh could do this. You pull up yuh big-girl socks. You’ve done it before and you could do it again. You have to be positive.”

She said although it took just a few days for the despondence to give way to positivity, she credits her parents for instilling toughness in her from an early age.

“I’ve developed it (a strong mindset) over the years. My dad used to always push me: don’t feel sorry for yourself. My mom never made me feel different. I always believe you don’t (have to) take anything too seriously. You still have life. I was never given an option to give up.”

Since having two surgeries last year at St James Medical Complex and beginning treatment, Drayton is continuing to live life how she wants to.

“I’m not 100 per cent finished with my treatment, to be honest,” she said.

“I’ve done chemo(therapy) and I’m done with the chemo. I still have to do radiation but that’s just to make sure everything is okay.”

Losing her leg at such a young age, the Civil Aviation receptionist knows how to adapt and has never made her physical challenge a hindrance to achieving her goals. She said her support system was instrumental in her becoming the strong woman she is today.

“It was challenging to some extent as a child, because I couldn’t do everything everyone around me was able to do. I’ve always been very resourceful. I’ve always found a way to live my life and do everything that I want to do regardless. I’ve never let it stop me. I’ve never let it hinder me. I live a full, productive life.”

She said she met her boyfriend for the first time at a party in 2017, and they saw each other again at another social event last year and hit it off. Pierre, who walked alongside Drayton during the 5K, told Sunday Newsday, “She just overcame cancer so there is no better way to get back up and running than get your fitness back out.”

On her support system she said, “It’s always been my family. My dad, my mom and aunt when I was initially going though it (cancer). Unfortunately, my dad passed away. My mom is ill right now. I had my sister and brother. I have my partner who is also very, very supportive and was with me through this journey – the whole way.”

When she is not working or exercising, Drayton said she enjoys reading fiction novels or simply going to the movies. She said also cherishes spending time with her seven-year-old nephew whom she jokingly threatened to drag along with her to her next 5K.