When I first started school, I told the kids our pet alligator was a bad idea. It was hard as a 5-year-old explaining my story to other 5-year-olds! I played all sorts of sports, and was very active. However, I noticed that none of the other kids at school had a fake leg like me. I would often get frustrated that none of my friends were like me.

In high school, I was in a leadership program that required a big project that would “make a difference”. It was pretty open-ended, but I knew exactly what I wanted to do.

I decided to start an organization to promote amputee awareness. After experiencing years of bullying for being different; I wanted to be the voice for amputees in my community. I was able to talk to lots of students around St. Louis and share my story.

This started in 2010 as a high school project and has turned into a community I am so lucky to be at the center of!