"From Adversity to Inspiration: Teaching assistant and amputee Rob Frank shares his journey

By Ellise Hollie Hayward, Disabilities Correspondent

"Rob Frank - Tell us a little about yourself"

My name is Rob Franks and I'm 45 years old.  I live in Poole, Dorset with my beautiful wife,  2 children Harry and Ollie, our 2 dogs Lexi and Murphy and our 2 cats Waffle and Potter.

 I'm a Special Educational Needs teaching assistant and I LOVE my job. I'm also a cricket coach and play county and club cricket. I also own and run a small business called Sporty Bits  Where we design and manufacture sports clothing for teams and individuals.

"Tell us a little bit about your condition"

I'm a left leg above the knee amputee. I first became disabled back in 2014 and then after a lot of issues in 2018 I paid £15K to have my leg amputated after having sarcoma and then snapping my femur in half. Yea it was all fun and games ! You will need to read my book to learn more 😉 trust me it's a good read ( apparently ).

"How did you get into your career?" 

My wife is a teacher and I've always wanted to work in special education so with the wonderful support from my wife I decided to retrain and got all my SEN qualifications as well as a level 4 qualification in Higher Level Teaching assistant. I now work at a wonderful school with fantastic children and truly amazing staff.

"Why did you start to raise awareness of a disability?" 

I started writing a few notes on my day to day life as someone with a disability.  I found I thoroughly enjoyed writing so decided to write my biography called 'from disability to ability-my journey'. I then found a company who took my biography on and published it.

I published the book to enable me to help others who may be in a similar situation as I was. I wrote it in a very honest but jovial way and told in my very own words (in which there are a few swear words, not too many though). Thankfully people seem to like it and gained some good reviews and good sales.

It's available online at all good book shops worldwide including amazon , its in paperback form, kindle and on amazon audible as well ! 

"What are your hopes and dreams for the future?"

I want to continue my career in education and grow my small business to be the best it can be.

I want to continue to help others who may be experiencing something similar to what I went through where I can offer help and advice as well as supporting people as much as possible. I want my family and friends to be happy and healthy and take each challenge as a chance to grow and learn.

I'm proud to say I was awarded in the kings birthday honours 2024 with a BEM (British empire medal) for a campaign I started, to give all disadvantaged children a laptop to do school work on in 2021 over the covid pandemic.

"What is the main motivational message that you would like to give to the world?"

Simply, in a world full of hate, just be kind to each other.

Help as much as you can and understand that no two people are on the same path.

Kindness is key.

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