"My toddler is the same height as me thanks to sepsis amputations - I don't care when people stare"

Credit: SWNS / Dennis Marquardt

A double amputee mum who is the same height as her toddler after she lost both legs to sepsis says she "doesn't care when people stare".

Hülya Marquardt, 40, had metal pins inserted into her legs to straighten them when she was a child.

But the tissue around the pins got infected, Hülya developed sepsis and she had both legs amputated above the knees, aged 18.

Doctors said she'd live in a care home but defiant Hülya walked on her hands and used a skateboard.

At 1m tall she said "people thought I shouldn't have a child" but Hülya and husband Dennis Marquardt, 39, became parents to Rangi, now three.

Hülya said she has been able to do everything an able-bodied mother can - just "differently".

She is often stared at by strangers when they see her crawling on the ground - but says she doesn't need "pity" or "praise" for living her life independently.