Victoria Milligan

On 5th May 2013, Victoria Milligan’s whole life changed.

That morning, she was a happily married mother of four, enjoying the bank holiday sun in Cornwall.

By the evening, she was an amputee, a widow and the single parent of her three surviving children.

The family had been involved in a horrific boat accident - one which robbed them of the lives they knew. Nicko, Victoria’s partner, and their daughter Emily lost their lives, and Victoria lost her lower left leg.

Unable to process what had happened, let alone able to understand how she would even begin move forward, Victoria was overwhelmed with grief.

Although, at first, this level of sorrow seemed too much to cope with, since the accident Victoria has learned to walk, run and ski on a prosthetic leg, and managed to cope with the ravages of grief. More important than these physical achievements, she has managed to show strength to her children Amber, Olivia and Kit and support them as a brilliant mother through their pain.

This experience has taught Victoria the importance of getting goals and taking small achievable steps in order to reach these goals.  Proving that a disability does not mean you must be branded as ‘disabled’ Victoria has run 10ks and completed a triathlon in the summer of 2016.

Appreciating the little things in life with a new sense of wonder, the accident has taught Victoria and her family not to take anything for granted and to relish everything they are given. Proving that positivity can trump adversity, Victoria champions the belief that grief is a fond remembrance of our loved ones and something we should take the time to appreciate.

Passionate about sharing her experiences, so others too can understand that in grief they are not alone, and how it is possible to find the inner strength to carry on after terrible trauma, Victoria tells her heart-rending story to inspire and motivate others.

She is a regular on ITV’s Lorraine show, and has mentored viewers who wants to ‘Turn it Around’ in 2016. Victoria also regularly appears on ITV’s This Morning and has written articles for various newspapers and magazines, including The Sunday Times, The Times, The Daily Mail, Good Housekeeping and You magazine, to name but a few. She supports numerous charities including the child bereavement charity and the RNLI.

Victoria’s experiences and personal resilience means she is able to discuss the subjects of insecurity and the search for perfection, topics which are of pressing importance in today’s world full of the pressures of social media.

Speaking about the power of positivity, the strength of the human survival instinct and the ability to find success in small steps, Victoria’s story is incredibly motivational. Her inspirational speech and positive takeaways will not leave a single dry eye in the audience.