prosthetic

"When I was in the hospital I didn't have that role model" (amputees, or people in a wheelchair).."and that's what I've been trying to be for other people."  Kirstie Ennis  

If you haven't heard of Kirstie Ennis, here's a quick introduction (you can learn more here: 

Kirstie Ennis is redefining beautiful. When you look at her picture, you know right away Kirstie is a beautiful woman, but she doesn't always feel that way. You might not notice the scars on her face, or her prosthetic leg, but Kirstie does.

"The injury doesn't define me but it's absolutely a part of who I am."

Kirstie grew up as an strong and attractive young woman. Her parents were both Marines, and she joined the Marines at at 17, wanting to help others. Kirstie was a helicopter gunner who served in two deployments. During her second deployment, her helicopter was shot down.
Kirstie suffered a traumatic brain injury, injuries to her spine, face, brain, and shoulders, and her left leg. She's had over 40 surgeries since then. The most difficult for Kirstie was an above the knee amputation of her left leg.

"I needed to see myself as someone who could be sexy, or be attractive...Now I want to show other people that they can do it for themselves too."

As someone who had always been active, the healing process has been difficult for her, and one year after the accident, she lost hope. Fortunately, after a talk with her dad, Kirstie found new motivation, and has kept moving forward ever since. Kirstie says she's accomplished things she'd never imagined since her accident, and she can't wait to see what the future holds.

I was lucky to catch up with Kirstie and have a great conversation about disability, beauty, and what she's doing to change the way people view both.

You'll find the transcript at HardyMom.com/redefining-beautiful

You can find Kirstie:

Website: https://kirstieennisfoundation.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/kirstieennis2/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kirstie_ennis

Want more? Go to HardyMom.com

You can connect with me at HardyMom.com/contact

Please Share this episode with someone who needs to hear it today.

Our music is A New Day, by Scott Holmes

In this episode, you'll meet a man who has found joy regardless of the circumstances. 

Brandon Anderson is a firefighter with the Fishers Fire Department in Indiana.

More than just the strength and courage it takes to be a firefighter - Brandon has been up against the impossible. He lost a leg in a motorcycle crash in the summer of 2016.

Just a year later, he is back on the force - now with a prosthetic. 

He is the first ever above-the-knee amputee to be at full duty as a firefighter.

In this episode, you’ll hear about the crash, the decision to amputate his leg and how he was able to get back to full duty as a firefighter. He has some great advice for looking forward and how to stop asking "WHY ME!?" and start taking control of your life.

Connect with Danielle:

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Daniellecraig.com

In this episode of the Future Grind podcast, host Ryan O'Shea sits down with television host and science communicator James Young to discuss his participation in the Phantom Limb project. Through a partnership with the Metal Gear Solid video game series, James helped to design and received a custom bionic limb - a journey which was featured in the BBC documentary "Bodyhack: Metal Gear Man." We also dove into his new BBC Three documentary "Can Robots Love Us?", and discuss the shortcomings and limitations of both prosthetics and robotics.

Find James online - jamesahy.com, @jamesahyoung

Show Notes: https://futuregrind.org
Subscribe on iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/future-grind-podcast-science-technology-business-politics/id1020231514
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If you have any questions or are interested in supporting or sponsoring Future Grind, you can reach us at hello@futuregrind.org.

Johns Hopkins researchers are making it possible for patients to control fingers of a prosthetic limb in a way never before possible! Turns out that patients already taking opioids for pain fare better if non-opioid methods are used as well. And a team from the University of Missouri has found that a new biologic method of resurfacing a joint results in improved outcomes.

Meet the most incredible orthopedist you will ever read about. His story begins, sadly, as an all too familiar story of refugees fleeing unimaginable violence. The rest of the story, however, is about a brilliant mind and how, against all odds, he redesigned prosthetics to be biologically friendly and osseointegrative. Three words—amazing, uplifting and instructive.

Madge and Dave discuss Condoleeza Rice, the Verizon Guy, the demise of soap operas, toddlers being served alcohol and the S.F. man who caught fire in a porn shop. Plus, new feature "Madge Remembers..." and I Don't Get...Paul Reiser. Plus, making a better prosthetic leg, living with apes and a listener unload about Thumb Wars. Oh, and Dave does his best Neil Diamond. (Week of April 11, 2011)