While I never would have chosen this path, it profoundly shaped the person I would become. The challenges I faced taught me resilience, gratitude, and the importance of community-lessons that would later inspire my life's work and ultimately lead to the creation of the San Antonio Amputee Foundation, a dream that lived in my heart for nearly a decade before becoming a reality.

For almost 30 years, I have dedicated my personal and professional life to serving the amputee community. In 1997, I founded the San Antonio Amputee Support Group, which has grown into one of the largest in-person amputee support groups in the country. I have had the privilege of serving on the Board of Directors and various committees of the Amputee Coalition and helping advance initiatives that improve the lives of individuals living with limb loss and limb difference.

In 2008, I led a successful bipartisan grassroots legislative effort that resulted in Texas Prosthetic Parity, requiring more equitable insurance coverage for prosthetic limbs. Since then, I have continued to advocate for improved access, education, and support for amputees at the local, state, and national levels. Most importantly, I have had the honor of meeting and supporting hundreds of new amputees and their families as they navigated the emotional, physical, and practical challenges that accompany limb loss.

Professionally, I am a Licensed Clinical Social Worker with degrees from California Polytechnic State University, Pepperdine University, and Texas State University. Throughout my career in the prosthetic field, I have combined my professional training with my lived experience to help individuals and families navigate life after limb loss.

While advocacy and service have been central to my life, my greatest joy and proudest accomplishment is being a mother. One of my greatest fears before amputation was whether I would be able to experience pregnancy and care for children as a woman with limb loss. Those fears eventually gave way to the privilege of raising two incredible daughters as a single mother. Today, they have grown into kind, compassionate, driven young women who continually inspire me and make me proud every day.

When I am not working with the amputee community, I enjoy staying active through fitness, hiking, and cycling with my life partner, George. I love traveling the world, exploring new cultures, and, admittedly, unwinding with a good binge-watch of a trashy reality television show!

Throughout my own journey, I have been loved, supported, encouraged, and empowered by countless individuals. The San Antonio Amputee Foundation is my opportunity to pay that gift forward and ensure that no amputee has to face this journey alone.

 

"The best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others." Mahatma Gandhi

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