Be-YOU-tiful Adaptive Warrior

I love my leg, what can I say. But it’s a love/hate relationship the first week of having a new socket put on. Like a new pair of shoes that need to broken in before you run a marathon, a new socket- even made perfectly for your limb- has it’s own personality that you need to get use to. It will hit your thigh differently, rub your groin raw, bump the end of your limb til it bruises, a...

Prosthetics 101-Part 2  Fitting Getting my fitting checked with Randy. (@limbmaster)   No matter how many questions I asked and how many people I talked to prior to amputation, no one can help you understand the things you don’t even know to ask in the first place…. for example, I knew it would take time, about 2 years, for my residual limb to shrink, change, and mature. What I di...

In the beginning…. This is me, with Randy West, in my first prosthetic and 50 lbs heavier! Yikes!!   This picture is hard for me to look at. I had been through years of surgeries and being laid up. I wasn’t active at all because I couldn’t. I was either in surgery, elevating my knee from surgery, in PT, or in just too much pain. Sadly, my mental game took as big of a hit as...

Have Grace With Yourself Through Life’s Ups and Downs The valleys in life allow us to see the beauty of the mountain tops   Moving has been the focus of my every moment this past 3-4 weeks and it has been exhausting. I have pushed myself to the max to get things unpacked and to make our new house look like a home. I have rubbed my residual limb raw, created some serious pains that have...

Moving is Tough Work! Even my dog is exhausted!!   I am BACK!!! I have missed being here and recording my podcast. So sorry for the temporary interruption in the broadcast but my family has been in the midst of a big move! I never thought we’d leave the amazing house we had but times change and new chapters begin. Our old house held so many memories for me and my family with family visi...

Changing Our Environment To Aid in Self-Preservation We’re moving!! It’s so real now!!! No turning back!   The end of another chapter. 😢   Well, this is it! I have been not been able to discuss this until now. As of 2 days ago we are officially new home owners, and of a ranch home. No more stairs for this amputee!! Laundry on the same level as my bedroom! Woo hoo!  I am not...

Run The Race Set Before You   It’s time to get off that couch and put your leg on. Let’s do this! If not today, then when? I will tell you that the amputation wasn’t the end of a journey but the very beginning of another. Life is a journey so I don’t know why I thought any different with amputation. Now the real work comes in. You need to heal, and then get your socket...

Traveling Home Once Again Me and Dad traveling back to Chicago after his stay with us.   Coming in for a landing, Chitown. City lights, oh how I’ve missed you!     O’Hare Airport doing it up right! Love this airport. God Bless America and the Veterans who fought for our freedom.   I am HOME!  Chicago will always be my home, no matter how long we may be apart. Every...

…and ROMP: Helping Others Gain Freedom of Mobility One Prosthetic at a Time This is me, July 2020 climbing Mt. Humphreys in Flagstaff, AZ. My highest and most challenging terrain thus far. I did this for ROMP’s #We Still Climb campaign.   OK all, I am here to tell you that if you haven’t heard of ROMP: Range of Motion Project Global yet you need to check them out!! Do you fe...

How My Faith Saved Me and Made Me Who I Am Today….. HIS! Faith: the assurance of what is hoped for, with the conviction of what is unseen.   This podcast goes deep as I share the other half of my story, the side of my story that I have only just recently shared with people outside my circle.  This story that gives you a glimpse into my Faith and belief system that has been in place all...

My support team through it all   My Support group This family!! I have been so blessed by each one of them!   The people you surround yourself with is a very important component to your success, I’d say it’s number 2 just behind your ATTITTUDE and MINDSET. Surround yourself with people who know you, can support you physically and emotionally,  and know when to give and when t...

Again, and Again, and Again….. Starting Line to my 1st race as an amputee, and as a St Jude Hero.   If someone asked you where your life began, or where you started out, you might answer, when you were born. Others may answer where they started their career or life as an adult, when they had to be responsible for themselves and maybe a spouse or significant other. For me, my starting po...

Plastic Surgeons and TMR Surgery: Tackling Phantom Limb Pain   Everyone deals with pain at some point in their life, but when you have an amputation you know that there is a possibility of living with a pain you can’t even touch! When the missing limb is burning, itching, throbbing, or sending sharp pains with every movement it can be unnerving -pun intended- and hard to get past. I, li...

Physical Therapy After Amputation is Vitally Important to Your Success as an Amputee My Tribe   Everyone needs a tribe. A group of people who are there for you, care about you, make you laugh when you want to cry and support all of your crazy ideas.  These are my people and I am so fortunate to have each and everyone of them in my life.  Some of them have been in my life since I was a teenage...

Not All Sockets (or Prosthetists) Are Made the Same Randy West, myself, and David Banks   I consider myself so fortunate to have been directed to The Limb Center by my doctor, Dr. Judd Cummings, as I was planning for my amputation. And I think I am a good judge of character, so when I went in to meet Randy West and David Banks for the first time, pre-amputation, I knew I was getting the best...

Advocating For Yourself When You Reach That Moment -My First steps as an amputee -This was pure joy: a new life had been opened up to me -The possibilities were endless -My amazing nurses that saw me through several days of recovery -This was just before being discharged -Excitement mixed with nerves -Dr Judd Cummings, my amazing orthopedic surgeon   That moment had come, in my mind. I had do...

What’s Holding You Back? What if I told you that you can overcome your fears. What if I told you that you could rise above your circumstances and that they do NOT define you? You need to hear Mike’s story, but not just what happened to him, listen to how he speaks about it. Listen to his message of the hope, and how he looked toward his future and NOT his past. Hear his heart and about...

Using Fear to Grow and Overcome Obstacles What holds you back from accomplishing your goals, your dreams? What stops you from moving forward, creating anxiety within you? If you are crippled by fear and can’t seem to move forward in pursuing your goals just know you are not alone.  Everyone has some sort of fear: fear of failure, fear of acceptance, fear of being alone or in pain. The issue...

Creating a vision board when times get tough Life is a journey. Embrace it. It has ups and downs. Be prepared for it. “Fall Down Seven Times, Stand Up Eight”-Chinese Proverb You are not alone in these two certain facts but we need to be able to cope and heal and thrive when times get hard. That’s when your mental and emotional game need to prove their worth. Like strength trainin...

About 2 weeks ago I reached out to Levitate on Instagram searching for someone who appeared to have mastered using a running blade. I had been out of my blade for over a year between socket adjustments, nerve pain and surgery. I was ready to try again now that the stars had all aligned but I knew that I need some tips and tricks to start moving again. Enter Levitate. I reached out to them in a DM...

Wow! What an experience I had! To think that I felt totally at peace and right with my amputation, yet coming to terms with it, through a horse, and finding that I had some deeper fears that I wasn’t allowing myself to show-like it was a sign of weakness instead of courage! It was such a profound moment for me, one that I won’t be forgetting any time soon. I am in awe of the grace and...

I never gave up on myself, nor did my PT, Dr. Shaun Palmer. Together we fought to get my life back so I could be active once again! This is his side of my journey from revision knee surgery to amputation.

    It won’t grow back so it’s time to change your thinking! The road I’ve taken to get where I am and to be the person you see here has been long and filled with bumps and bruises along the way. I got knocked down-over and over again but I chose to get back up. Today, I share my journey with you for the first time. From injury to amputation, this is my personal story....

Welcome to my trailer of Be-YOU-tiful Adaptive Warrior. This is a quick introduction to what you will be hearing about throughout my episodes. My journey through healing and living my best life, and how I can help you achieve that same success. For more information please contact Angie at: BAWarrior360@gmail.com