People!

Last week I was surprised to receive a voice mail from a reporter for People Magazine. While I was fairly certain that the call was not announcing that I have been named to the 100 Most Beautiful list, I was intrigued enough to call back. It turns out that the reporter was doing a feature story on Adrienne, the dancer who lost her leg in the Boston Marathon bombings.

I met Adrienne last month when I testified in front of Congress.  Although our journeys have been different, she expressed a willingness to use her platform to highlight the real life issues faced by amputees. In particular, she wanted to help fight for insurance fairness and prosthetic parity.  It turns out that she was good to her word because she managed to use her clout to convince People magazine to address this issue.

I was delighted to add my voice to compliment the article.  I was able to speak to my own personal issues battling insurance and highlighted the plights experienced by far too many of my friends. The reporter appeared to be both empathetic and outraged by the issue, leaving me with hope that the community has won another ally in our battle.

Saturday morning I received an email announcing the release of the People article online. I remain awestruck that I have been quoted twice in People magazine! I'm optimistic that this article will be the tipping point that our community has been seeking as we try to raise awareness about insurance fairness and access to prosthetics.