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Letting Go of DeFeet

There were hardly any kids at the Shriners Hospital today...  The administrative assistant I contacted had tried to discourage me from coming because the hospital would be so empty.  But I came anyway, because I was in town.  I wore my Olympic medals and brought souvenir postcards to sign for the patients who were there.
 So I visited a few kids and talked.  Then we met this little girl with her mother in the hallway. Neither spoke English.
 Through the translator I shared the story of my amputated leg and being at Shriners for my surgeries when I was a kid.
 Then the girl lifted up her pants leg to show her foot was five inches off the ground with a brace like mine was.
 It turns out she had the same problem, but refused to let them cut her foot off.
 We talked a bit more.
 Then I visited some other kids.
 I saw her again and asked "is getting a leg like mine an option?" She shook her head quickly as if to say "no way"
 "Do you have any questions about it?" She shook her head faster.
 I wasn't getting through at all.
 So I put down my purse, took off my high heels, adjusted my ankle to flat and ran across the room and back as fast as I could.  Then I took out my jump rope and jumped.

 I didn't see her face while I was running but they told me they saw the light in her eyes go on!  A man who had seen her when she first came in--shy and withdrawn--started crying.
 If she was the only kid in the hospital that day, I think it was worth going.

 When I spoke at the church later that day I told the story of the little girl...and I said, "Here she is in the middle of free, state of the art medical care turning down the treatment she needs--and a powerful new leg--because she wants to keep a foot that doesn't work!"
 "How often are we like that with God?  God has everything prepared for us but we are like a small child from a foreign country who doesn't understand the big picture.  What is the foot you are holding onto in your life that is blocking your blessings?  Is it a job you need to move on from? Is it a relationship that you need to let go of? A degree you are afraid to get?  What are you holding onto?"

 I hope someday I will find out what that little girl decides to do.  I pray she will find the courage to accept God's blessings.  Will you?

August 2008 | Permalink
Categories: Prayer

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Oprah and Friends

Just taped a radio interview with Jean Chatzsky this morning!
Okay I was very nervous.  XM Radio? Oprah's friends?
Jean was so nice!  We talked about overcoming a tough background, trying to raise money to be a skier when I had none and lived in San Diego with no snow!
We talked about healing emotionally so that you can take control of your finances and your personal destiny.
It should air before the end of August.  I will let you know the date when I know.

July 2008 | Permalink
Categories: Inspiration

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Teenage Girls

I spent all day yesterday with 300 teenage girls in a leadership program with People to People. Wow!  I shared with them my personal recipe for leading an extraordinary life:  Have a passionate vision, close the gap with reality, and deal with the problems that happen.
In the evening I facilitated a discussion about body image and pressure to look not like yourself, to have plastic surgery, to diet excessively, etc.  They all had great insights and supported each other so much.  It restored my faith in the future.

The hardest thing--most shocking...was after we talked about pressure from the media (models, air brushing, fashion mags, designer clothes, makeup, etc) and pressure from peers (boys, girls cliques, bullying, etc) we talked about pressure from adults....and that was the WORST.
--Coaches who push girls to diet so they can win a championship even if the girl becomes anorexic.
--A Dad who expect his daughters to look like the kind of women who he dates, eg arm candy. Ugh!
--A Grandmother who was not interested in her grades, accomplishments, or personality--only her looks and "could you please lose weight or you'll never get a man!" she told her in tears.

As parents we think they never listen to us.  Actually they listen to us more than we realize.  When I am criticizing my own weight or starting my nth diet, my teenage daughter is definitely listening...to what I do even more than what I say. 
So what can you do?  Go hug a young lady you know and tell her she's beautiful just as she is.  You probably have no idea how much she needs to hear it.

July 2008 | Permalink
Categories: Inspiration

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One Leg, Two Babies!

Dear Bonnie,
My name is Amy. I'm an above knee amputee and will be adopting twins in January.  My husband and I are thinking through how to carry babies on crutches, how to manage late night feedings without my limb, etc.  We wondered if you devised any "systems" for caring for her daughter that might help me.

Dear New Mom,
What a blessing!  Not sure what to say.
I guess two legged people should get up in the middle of the night for feedings?!!? (that means you , Dad!)
He can bring you the babies and bottles though, and you can share the duty.
It is pretty common to keep babies in a portable bassinet right next to the bed (they like to be in something smaller than a crib when newborn).  I assume you aren't breast feeding...so the only problem is going to the kitchen for bottles.  Maybe you can buy a mini fridge to keep in your bedroom with pre-made formula?  Keeping the babies and the formula in your room until they can sleep through the night is not too bad.  It is only a few months.
Re: crutches, I don't know.  I wore my leg most of the time. I used a sling where you keep the baby near you, don't know if crutches would work with that.  Backpacks come later when they can hold their heads up.
Let me know how things go!
My daughter loves having an amputee for a mom.  She is very kind and accepting of all people with differences!
Blessings on your journey.
Bonnie

May 2008 | Permalink
Categories: Women

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