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#WeTHRIVE Stories

These articles are featured in Amputee Coalition’s #WeTHRIVE story campaign to help raise awareness of the resilience, strength, and courage that people living with limb loss and limb difference have to transform their ordinary into extraordinary. 

Vance Carlin

Vance Carlin

1LEGGEDMOVEMENT. PMA, Keeping a Positive Mental Attitude...and always keeping a higher power, and pushing your limits.

Marc Philipp

Marc Philipp

NEVER GIVE UP. Hey, I wanted to briefly introduce myself. I'm Marc and I'm 28 years old. Today I'll briefly tell you my story. When I was 14, I lost my hand during an internship at school. I rolled over with a tractor on a farm and my hand was so badly injured that it...

Booker Eiland

Booker Eiland

BOOKER T EILAND'S LIFE EXPERIENCE AS AN AMPUTEE. View Video My name is Booker T Eiland, and I am 58 years old. I have four children. Two boys and two girls. I have worked as an Executive Chef for 39 years in the culinary industry. I am an Award-winning Executive Chef....

Tonya Mooney

Tonya Mooney

GRIT. On Monday, July 18th, 2022, my family received a call stating that I had been in an ATV accident. I was driving home from a friend’s house, and the accident occurred around 10:30 PM. The first call to the Sheriff's Department was about two hours later at 12:30...

Julian Biziewski

Julian Biziewski

VACATION TURNED NIGHTMARE. In 2019 I went on a family vacation for my brother's wedding. I got sick with H1-N1. It turned into sepsis, and I had bacterial pneumonia and full organ failure, 3x cardiac arrest, put on ECMO:VA in induced coma. In 2020 I had to have up to...

Magdalene Chesoli

Magdalene Chesoli

I'M AN AMPUTEE OF COURSE CHALLENGE. Born with congenital amputation, I have never known the joy of walking on both legs. However, with my prosthesis, I have been able to experience that freedom. As a young girl, I used to walk with a single long crutch and in turn,...

Hannah Williamson

Hannah Williamson

THE START OF SOMETHING NEW. Hey y’all! My name is Hannah and I lost my right leg above the knee almost 6 months ago. I was driving home when a distracted driver hit me head-on in my lane. I was rushed to a nearby trauma hospital where I underwent 2 emergency surgeries...

Nicole Green

Nicole Green

AMPUTATION. Had my amputation yesterday morning on a pinkie smashed between pots washing dishes at work.

Saxon Reynolds

Saxon Reynolds

THE UNSTOPPABLE COMEBACK. My story is simple but complex. I'm a competitive person who lost his edge from a freak accident. My faith and drive never wavered and my purpose just may have gotten stronger. Who doesn't love a great comeback story? Scared to call it a...

LaTisha Ford

LaTisha Ford

THE REASON I THRIVE 2023. This 50-year-old is still discovering things about herself as an individual living with limb loss/limb loss difference. The mindset that has carried me through this journey in life is to EXPECT NOTHING FROM NO ONE BUT EXPECT EVERYTHING FROM...

Ken Hein

Ken Hein

OUR LIVES CHANGED, BUT LIFE IS STILL GOOD. We were riding our motorcycles on the beautiful Memorial Weekend, 2018. We left home in Chelsea, MI, and headed to the Harley Dealership in Napoleon, OH. In the middle of nowhere, at an intersection of two country roads, our...

Tom Klotz

Tom Klotz

WHOOPS! Back in January of 2000, I was working as a machine operator at the Philadelphia Navy Yard and also at a popular local bar, part-time. Super Bowl 2000 was a lousy, wet, snowy day but we had a big crowd inside for the game. Halftime comes and as I start to...