Big Day!

Today is a big day for me! I have been invited to provide testimony during a Congressional hearing about access to prosthetics. I feel like I have been working towards this moment for years, and I am both excited and terrified about the coming hours.

Three amputees have been asked to provide testimony during today's hearing. A representative from the Boston Marathon bombings, an individual who was injured during combat service, and me. Obviously, I am the token representative from the civilian amputee community.  We all have our own journey, but the reality of the other two speakers is not typical for an amputee in this country. While they have been provided with the best technology and rehabilitation, most amputees are struggling to scrape together the funds for the most basic of devices.  

Almost every day I field emails from people from all over this country, desperate to get fitted with a prosthetic. Moms and Dads are relegated to living life in the sidelines, not because they lack intrinsic motivation to walk with a prosthesis but because they don't have the funds required to get one. I find myself far more disabled by my insurance policy than I am by the loss of my biological leg. I am both excited and honored to relay these stories in the hopes of starting a realistic dialog. I truly believe that it if the public knew of the real life struggles in the amputee community, change would result.

Despite being nervous, I am going to do my best to provide a true life depiction of the struggles of the "normal" amputee in this country.  I have committed hours of prep time to today's testimony. I know the issue and feel confident that I can speak accurately, passionately and effectively about the struggles faced by so many of my friends. I feel intimidated by the responsibility, but not by the audience. There was a time I would have been simultaneously awe struck and silenced by the prospect of presenting to an elected official. The gravity of this issue has erased any of these fears and has served to fuel my passion. I finally have an audience with clout, and I have no intention of being quieted without thoroughly depicting the hurdles encountered due to our lack of insurance parity.

Stay tuned as the AmputeeMommy takes on Congress!