Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility

#WeTHRIVE Stories

These articles are featured in Amputee Coalition’s #WeTHRIVE story campaign to help raise awareness of the resilience, strength, and courage that people living with limb loss and limb difference have to transform their ordinary into extraordinary. 

Gary Eli Aguilar

Gary Eli Aguilar

Amputee Strong. Being born with one hand has been a big challenge but more of a blessing in life! It’s never stopped me from doing anything! I’ve played football for 10 years and other kinds of sports my whole life! A lot of people always see the things that I do and...

Aniketh Vyas

Aniketh Vyas

Never Give Up - The Unseen Story. Mr. Aniketh Vyas, MS in Computer Science, officially graduated from Saint Louis University. Life isn't always the way we want. I came to the United States of America with many dreams, as every other individual dreams. I applied to...

Gloria Letona

Gloria Letona

Quad Amputee Fashion. We may not be able to go back and wear the same high heels, or dresses, but becoming an amputee was a challenge with clothes...eventually, my creativity and love of clothes returned to me.

Dianah Nanjala

Dianah Nanjala

Nothing is impossible with God. Two months ago, I got involved in a terrible road accident which actually led to my left leg amputation. I am a fashion model and honestly, this wasn't easy for me to take. Felt like everything fell apart and I could barely achieve my...

Chris Cavanaugh

Chris Cavanaugh

The Mad Hiker Defeats The Mammoth March. I finished the Mammoth March East Tennessee Hike. I logged 47,748 steps, just under 24 miles on a 20-mile hike. Elevation gains were above 1,600 feet. As an above knee amputee it was an amazing feeling crossing the finish line...

Robert Zimmerman

Robert Zimmerman

Never Give Up! On January 11,2018 I went to work like I did five or six days a week since I was 16 years old. This time though, I didn’t come home the same way I went in. I was electrocuted while working as an Amtrak lineman in NY Penn Station while working on the...

Jesus Moreno

Jesus Moreno

Loss of Hand, Gain in Life I am an upper amputee involved in para triathlon. I compete on the world stage, and I am proud to say I am the only upper amputee in my class. Everyone else is born without a hand. I swim hard, bike fast, and run with my heart.

Lauren Newton Connor

Lauren Newton Connor

Every Amputee Deserves a Peer Visit  Hello everybody, my name is Laura Newton Carter. I am a bilateral amputee. April is Limb Loss and Limb Difference Awareness Month. In 2007, I was riding my motorcycle on vacation and I was hit by a car. My left leg was amputated...

Anna Klecha

Anna Klecha

My Purple Leg Empowers Me To Elevate Others My name is Anna, and I live in Poland. I was born with a leg deformity and used prosthetic equipment since early childhood. Four years ago I underwent a partial limb amputation, which allowed me to get a knee joint in my...

Cheyenne Heflin

Cheyenne Heflin

Giving What I Couldn’t Get Bone cancer at 13 isn't what I would call the normal childhood experience, but it was mine. Osteosarcoma led to me getting an above-knee amputation on my right leg. From that point on, I was pretty much left on my own to deal with the...

Masha Kurbatova

Masha Kurbatova

“Driving Mrs M,” a Film About Returning to Independence My name is Masha Kurbatova, and I am a production assistant for the documentary film "Driving Mrs M." Ours is the story of a third grade teacher, Mrs M, whose simple cold turns deadly. It leads to sepsis,...

Andre Turpin

Andre Turpin

We All Have Unlimbited Potential Most people don’t believe me when I say I’ve lived the best part of my life after my amputation. I understand this disbelief. My amputation isn’t convenient. It was a hard recovery, and it was initially difficult to adapt. It felt like...