Meet Theresa, a 14-year-old from California. Theresa is pretty much just like any other typical teen from around the country.  She enjoys playing with her siblings, riding horses, playing softball and a lot more. Like most amputees, she prefers not to be defined by what she can’t do but by what she is doing. Theresa is the creator of an interactive newsletter for young amputees. 

Although Theresa has a twin sister, she is very different from her sister. Theresa was born with a condition that affected the function of her legs and required amputation of both legs below the knee when she was 11 months old. She also had to face long days of recovery.

Like most parents, having a newborn was a time of trials: little sleep, lots of work. Mary-Lynn not only had two babies to care for at once, but she also had to learn how to care for a daughter with a limb difference. Mary-Lynn recalls this time, saying, “life became a blur.”

In 2007, Theresa’s mom suggested that she create a newsletter for other young amputees. “At first, I was not sure about it,” said Theresa, “but then we thought about making it interactive so the readers could help me write it.”  What started as this simple idea has grown into a newsletter called Young Amputees in Action.

The process of writing a newsletter has at times challenged Theresa. For one, she has to continually develop her writing skills. It also has given her a way to meet other young amputees like herself.  As Theresa has grown, she has been able to meet other amputees from around the country, which has also helped shape her identity. Her mom enjoys watching her expand her circle of friends and interact with a wide range of people

Theresa says, “I hope that other amputees who read the newsletter get the feeling that they are not the only amputees in the world.”  She also wants to help others learn that they can do anything that they put their mind to.  

Writing a newsletter is not easy.  It takes lots of time and input from others. Theresa would not be able to write the newsletter without her sister and mom’s help. Currently, Young Amputees in Action is published four times a year, which may change once Theresa enters high school.

If given the chance to interview anyone in the world, Theresa expressed her desire to interview Paralympian swimmer Jessica Long. “She is a great inspiration to all young amputees,” she says. Theresa hopes that through her example and the newsletter, readers will not let their disability get in the way of what they want to do in life. “Anything is possible!” she says.

Mary-Lynn is proud of her daughter and hopes that her daughter can inspire others. “With faith and love we and our children, disabled or not, can live our life to the fullest,” she says. She also believes that Theresa is learning an important virtue. “Giving of one’s self brings inner rewards and happiness to others,” she says.

Theresa encourages readers to submit stories and interesting topics for the newsletter.

If you are a young amputee yourself and would like to be added to the Young Amputees in Action newsletter get your parents to contact the Youth Activities Program Coordinator for the Amputee Coalition of America at yapinfo@amputee-coalition.org and ask to have your name and address added to the list.