In August 1993, her life changed for ever when she was involved in a road accident with a police motorcycle and suffered numerous injuries including crushed ribs, a punctured lung, multiple fractures of the pelvis and the loss of her left leg below the knee.
Heather voluntarily counsels people from around the world who have lost limbs in accidents, through illness, natural disasters and terrorist atrocities. Her personal advice, determination and commitment help them and their families realise that they can continue to lead rich and fulfilling lives despite their injuries. She also lectures before audiences ranging in size from 30 to 3,000.
Just one year after her accident, Heather arranged for the first convoy of artificial limbs to be sent to Croatia. Since then thousands of amputees and survivors of landmine explosions around the world have been helped.
Heather’s charity work is particularly focused on the Adopt-A-Minefield campaign to clear landmines and help landmine survivors. She is the Founding Patron of Adopt-A-Minefield UK, and ambassador for the global campaign. Adopt-A-Minefield has raised over $17 million to date, funding clearance of over 21 million square metres of mined land and benefiting more than 400,000 people. Adopt-A-Minefield is now the largest funder of landmine clearance in the world and has funded over 300 minefield clearance and survivor assistance projects.
Heather has won numerous accolades and awards including, recently, the inaugural UNESCO Children in Need Award. The University of California honoured Heather with the Irvine Award and have established a Fellowship in her name. She also received an Open University Doctorate in 2004.
In December 2001, Heather made a return to modelling with a difference. After hearing her speak at the Mothers & Shakers Awards in New York, American clothing company I.N.C. asked Heather to front their International Concepts of Inspiration campaign. The successful campaign raised awareness and funds for Adopt-A-Minefield. To date INC have donated $100,000 to the charity.
Heather has been invited by legendary chat-show host Larry King to guest host two of his shows to date. ‘Larry King Live with Heather Mills McCartney and Paul Newman’ was broadcast worldwide on CNN. She recently covered the wedding of Prince Charles and Camilla Parker Bowles and is looking forward to doing more presenting in the future.
Heather also recently launched a new campaign to stop the terrible international trade in cat and dog fur. More than two million animals are skinned alive in China each year purely for their pelts, and when Heather was sent a video exposing the cruelty, she felt she had to act. She joined Euro MP Struan Stevenson at the European Parliament in March 2005 to highlight the barbarity of this trade and brought it to the attention of the world’s media in September 2005 with high-profile protests in America in association with PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals).
In October 2002 Heather’s updated autobiography “A Single Step” was released in North America. All of Heather’s earnings from the book are donated to Adopt-A-Minefield.
--The Official Site
ENGLAND