Be-YOU-tiful Adaptive Warrior

Living Life With Gratitude     Life is hard. You can choose to lay down and have it destroy you or you can reframe your thinking and how you view your circumstance by finding things and people in your life for which you can be grateful. It’s that time of year when we hear people say they are thankful for their life, we see trinkets in our homes that say, “Grateful, thankful, blessed”, an...

To Party.. I mean, for Medical Insurance Sorry, I had the Beastie Boys song stuck in my head. But, for real, do what they say and FIGHT for your rights!!!! They know what’s up!   The Beastie Boys had it right when they sang, “You’ve got to fight, for your right to party” however I’d say you should also fight for your right to having appropriate medical coverage, and for us amputees, the...

  Life is never truly easy, for anyone. Sometimes it feels like everything is going our way when out of the blue a bomb drops. Maybe your job or family life is struggling, or maybe your health.  Then you can feel overwhelmed and defeated. But don’t fret. We all go through these moments. We all have valleys we must trudge through. What I have learned through life is that the valleys don&...

“How long did it take for you to learn to walk?” “Was it hard to learn to walk in a prosthetic?” “What helped you get use to your prosthetic?” I get these questions on a weekly basis from curious onlookers to amputees in wheelchairs. It took time and commitment. Some would say courage, as well, because it’s hard to learn a basic skill all over again, and the fear of falling, and failing, is so gre...

What inspires you? Who inspires you? Did you know that you, too, are an inspiration? Yep, you are! Each of us has the ability to impact another person’s life and outlook just by the way we carry ourselves, how we behave, speak, and interact with the people around us. A simple smile could give someone just the boost they need when they are struggling. Having grace and forgiveness may give another p...

Some people might tell you it’s impolite to ask amputees questions, or rude to allow your kiddos to stare or question why an amputee is the way they are but I will tell you that I love sharing my story and informing people about “life as an amputee”.  If we can inform, then we are educating. When people are educated about something they can have compassion, sympathy/empathy, and be better able to...

Forgiveness and Grace   No one knows what our future holds, and for sure, I never expected to become an amputee, but here I am. And quite frankly I am a better person for it, have met amazing people through it, and grown in ways I never would have if I never went through it. I found acceptance of my circumstance BEFORE going under the knife, and that has helped me embrace, love, and move forw...

  If we could only see the damage within ourselves from past experiences, like we can see the physical damage done from surgery, we would understand the importance of healing within ourselves.  If you are hurting, feeling discouraged, broken, sad, anxious, angry, then you really need to focus on your inner YOU before you can heal and build up your physical YOU. When we feel great, happy, cont...

Making Your Dreams Become Reality     If you can dream it, you can do it. We’ve all heard that saying before and maybe even been told that by someone trying to cheer you on.  It’s true, to an extent. Dreams become reality when we have the vision to imagine them, and the mental and physical strength to follow through to accomplish them. Dreams aren’t easy to accomplish,...

Positive Mental Attitude for a Better Life Join me today on the road in Las Vegas as I discuss how our attitude can make or break our day to day lives and ultimately leads to our feelings of success or failure. This past week I met someone who was struggling with their quality of life and wanting more. We discussed PMA and I talked about how goal setting and how surrounding myself with good people...

Extreme Nerve Pain aka Phantom Pain   Oh, it’s real alright!! I experienced 3 days and nights of non-stop STABBING pain.   It’s MASSIVE pain, no way to control it, mentally exhausting and disabling pain like no other!  It attacks when you least expect it and can make itself at home for days, or weeks on end. I am not talking about what I feel everyday-yes, I said “every...

What Happens When It’s YOUR Decision??   Hi there! Remember me?😉   I’m back from a much-needed break and ready to bring you some amazing episodes! Won’t you join me by subscribing to my website, podcasts, or YouTube channel?? Here we are 3 1/2 years after my ELECTED amputation and I had someone ask me, “How hard was it for you to decide to amputate? Because I&#82...

Traveling, and Enjoying It, Despite Your Circumstance   I’m back after a much needed 3-week break. Traveling is so much fun but can be really hard when you’re dealing with a “disability”. I’m going to take you through my vacation, what I packed, how I adapted, and the pitfalls- because of course, there are always a few. If you’re planning on traveling anyti...

What gets you moving in the morning? What lights a fire under you? What keeps you moving forward when you feel like giving up? Our mindset and goal setting allows us to find success. They give us the direction and purpose we need to press forward and reach levels of success that might not have been possible otherwise. I make sure that I have a clear image in my head of what the next day will look...

Pity Party For 1, That Is.     Yep, it happens to us all and this past Monday I got myself into that mindset. However, looking back now, and even that evening, I realized how lucky I am for all the good in my life. Then I had a good laugh at myself and moved on. You could say that character building happened that day for me and I wanted to share with you what can happen in my life to sho...

Rising to a Challenge and Facing Your Fears   You just never know what’s on the other side of fear. But I can tell you, from experience, that I have never regretted a moment that I have taken the chance and faced a fear. I feel empowered and alive! I feel like I could do anything I set my mind to, and it doesn’t matter if I succeed or fail, what matters is that I try. This past we...

  The past few weeks have been quite a ride and then just 2 days ago I realized we, as a family, were about to close another chapter in our lives. Change happens. Life keeps moving forward, even when we are not ready, even if we don’t want it to. It is inevitable. We as humans don’t really embrace change well, it takes some getting used to but, it is what helps us grow. When we ar...

 US Army Veteran, USA Sled Hockey Teammate, Therapy Dog Trainer, Special Olympics Coach, Bilateral Below Knee Amputee Christy does it all! She is amazing, inspiring, and constantly pushing her limits to see what is possible! As I wrap up my interviews for Limb Loss/Limb Difference Awareness month (April), I have to say I am renewed, Inspired, and ready to take on the world! Christy was planning on...

Range of Motion Project Global What an amazing group of people creating opportunities for amputees who might never had the chance to enjoy freedom and independence that mobility brings. Range of Motion Project Global is changing lives, one prosthetic at a time. I have had the honor of helping them fundraise and getting mobile for their cause the past 2 years as an amputee, because I know how my pr...

2x Paralympic Medalist, Father, and Cancer Survivor-Noah Elliott   Wow! Do you need some inspiration? Make sure you listen in today! Noah Elliott shares the journey he has been on since the age of 15, and how he went from becoming a teen father to cancer diagnoses to 2x Olympic medalist!  I mean, WOW!!! 2022 Winter Olympics    Noah doing what he does!   Doing what he loves and his p...

Come join us as we hear Dani tell her story. Born without a forearm and hand Dani’s parents, although not expecting that, showed her that she could do anything and be anything she put her mind to. Dani had always been into sports and her dream job is to be a GM to an NFL football team.  She went off to college, got her degree in business and started working for the Indianapolis Colts and Pac...

  Born with limb difference but having the drive and determination to become something more than her “disability”. Being told she may never walk and having the will to prove everyone wrong. Daring to dream big and pushing the boundaries of being an athlete with limb difference comes the story of Roni Sasaki, Gold medalist in Alpine Skiing, author, speaker, and entrepreneur.  This...

Andrew Hauser: Athletic Trainer/Strength Coach to the MLB and NFL players I am so excited to share amazing stories all month, interviewing people from all over, who have gone through losing a limb or have limb difference, and letting them share their story and how they have risen from and conquered the challenges in their lives. This week’s interview is with Andrew Hauser, athletic trainer/s...

Let’s Take a Peek Hi! My name is Angie and I am an above knee amputee and a skin fit socket wearer. There are many struggles you might first think about when you see an amputee, the most obvious is walking (if they are a leg amputee), but there are so many daily, little (and big) struggles that you might never know about unless you are an amputee. Did you know that most of us don’t sho...

“To live will be an awfully big adventure.”     -Peter Pan And to live well, is even better. Sometimes it might feel like the world is coming down all around you and you can barely breathe. We can get so wrapped up in our own journey, or life, that we forget that there are others out there hurting and dealing with their own struggles.  There are people who don’t know if they can...