And Whitehead’s charitable foundation is now helping him towards his own dream, competing at the 2028 Los Angeles Paralympics, by providing him with his first running limbs.
But Saleh says being an athlete is about more than just winning and gold medals – and his mental health has improved since becoming more active.
“The running blades allow me to overcome my disability,” he says.
As the 2024 Paralympics begin, Whitehead wants his foundation to inspire the next generation.
But he added: “To have the next generation of Paralympic athletes and gold medallists, we need to make a change – and that change needs to start with the NHS really believing what is the best for the patients.”
An NHS England official said the NHS provided a range of prosthetics to those who had lost limbs and many fitness and physical activities were possible without a sports-specific prosthetic.
When assessing whether patients would benefit from prosthetics or adaptations that would help fitness and physical activities, healthcare providers considered various factors – including whether patients had a history of participating in activity and were fit enough to use them, the official added.
