Cornelia Oosthuizen
Cornelia served for 10 years with the Adjutant General’s Corps with her own account.
I served for 10 years with the Adjutant General’s Corps as part of the Educational and Training Services Branch, eventually specialising as a linguist in Pashto – one of the languages spoken in Afghanistan. Subsequently, I oversaw pre-deployment language training for different battalions before they deployed on operations. During the last mile of my career, I became the officer commanding of the Army School of Education just outside of Winchester.
While playing Army tennis in 2014, I suffered an injury to my right leg and due to complications, had it amputated below the knee at the end of 2018. I found myself experiencing a loss of identity when I was medically discharged from the Army in 2016 and previously diagnosed depression resurfaced.
I took up wheelchair tennis and competed in the 2017 Invictus Games in Toronto and was talent-spotted. I was invited to the development squad for wheelchair tennis. By 2018, I made the world rankings and was taken on board for the Wheelchair Performance Programme the Lawn Tennis Association runs for prospective Paralympic and potential Grand Slam Champions. I’ve been a professional full-time wheelchair tennis player since 2019.
Due to the demands of my tennis career, I had to move from Wiltshire to London. I was unable to afford rent for a time and ended up staying at the National Tennis Centre for several months before the repercussions of the covid pandemic lead to a period of being homeless. During the lockdown, I discovered Stoll and was fortunate to be offered a flat within weeks. I’ve been here since Summer 2020 and Stoll has been invaluable to me and my journey.
