Book Report: On My Own Two Feet

The injuries he suffered were overwhelming, and so sudden that at first, he didn't know anything was wrong. Only when he tried to put weight on his leg did he realize the extent of the damage. He jokes about it today. "I found that I didn't have a leg to stand on," he chuckles. Most of the flesh on his leg was ripped away, leaving his foot attached only by the tendons in the back of his calf. Bones were exposed and the bleeding was profuse. He also suffered head and internal injuries.

Since her tragic accident, she has dealt with the physical consequences of quadriplegia: the daily pain, the frail bones weakened by lack of use, the danger of bladder infections, and the potential for pressure sores or a collapsed lung. Also, Joni is conformed to a wheelchair for most of her day and relies heavily on caregivers for some of the most basic tasks (“Sweet Surrender” 39). Upon being in the hospital and receiving her diagnosis, Joni went into a deep depression with the memories of asking her friends to assist her in suicide. She felt disconnected from life, but was encouraged by her close friend, Steve, who shared the Word of God with her. He often came by her side and they would study the Bible together. The question that often burdened Joni was: Why would God let this happen? She discovered that it was part of a big puzzle that changed her perspective of life (“Joni’s Life Story”). After two years of rehabilitation from her injuries, Joni was determined to make something of herself and to help others who were dealing with situations similar to hers. In 2010, Joni received a stage three breast cancer diagnoses. In an interview, she says her outlook of God's word had not changed and she goes back to certain Bible passages to bring her healing and hope. Yet again, Joni faced another life-threatening condition that could have taken her life. She kept trusting God and no matter what happened, she knew she

Janine Shepherd was an Australian cross country skier who had dreams of winning a winter Olympics gold medal. While she was training on a bike with her fellow teammates. A tragic accident happened: she was hit by a speeding truck and became paralyzed from the waist down. Her life was perfect until she had gotten into that tragic accident and broken every part of her body, and she didn’t want her body anymore because it was hopeless; however, she improved and learned how to walk but also learned how to fly. “A broken body isn’t a broken person.” Janine talks about how she didn’t want her body because it was broken and there wasn’t no point, but she makes a decision to give herself a second chance even though she has to rethink everything in

Lexi was in a tragic boating accident that, unfortunately, resulted in the loss of her lower left leg. Countless amputees have given up on trying to become stronger and try to have a normal life again, but, however, Lexi decided she was not going to be one of them. It was extremely hard for her in the beginning because walking with prosthetics is a lot harder than walking regularly. Lexi had to work twice as hard to be able to get used to the prosthetics and try to live on with it to the best of her abilities. She kept working every day, going through physical therapy and other methods to be able to walk better with prosthetics. Although her life would never be the same again and would never be normal, Lexi made it her goal to try and get it to be as close to normal as possible. She was a very athletic girl before the accident and wants to go back to the sports she loves by training extra hard to make it to the Paralympics. Lexi also wants to become a physical therapist to help other amputees with their struggles. She looks at her leg with pride, knowing that she is living her life to the fullest and not letting the accident bring her spirit down. She will keep putting in a lot of effort, thanks to modern science that has made and improved prosthetics that will forever help her. Lexi is not going to let this get in her way of achieving her dream, which proves her grit and

have the power to “explain, exhort and persuade” because it connects people in a way in which not only can they emphasize with each other, but they realize that there are others in similar situations as them, making them feel that they are part of a group.

The polio caused Dorothea to have a weakened right leg along with a permanent limp. Throughout her life she felt embarrassed and humiliated about the way she walked; however, she later said that her limp made her a stronger person. Dorothea commented, “It formed me, guided me, instructed me, helped me, and humiliated me. I’ve never gotten over it, and I’m aware of the force and power of it”. The other incident of Dorotheas life was the abandoning of her father.

Crushing her dreams, the surgical doctors tell her that eventually, she would be able to walk with a prosthetic, but would never run again. The news breaks her heart and sends her into a depressing, mentally challenged mindset. Things get rough for Jessica, but she learns to overcome the obstacles God’s given her, and stay strong. Jessica heals emotionally and physically, coming back better than ever. In her first couple days

The video clip “Breaking Down Levels” proves that a person’s perseverance and determination is all you need to overcome any type of turmoil in your life. Also, this clip helps individuals to see things from a different perspective such as realizing the benefits to life’s circumstances. Take for instance, Amy’s ability to find the optimism in something so difficult as changing legs. As for determination her loss of legs has helped her to accomplish an even greater feet such as defying life’s

that she had a male, Igor Gentsaryuk, in custody for DUI near the 3700 block of

My sixteen year old niece Kyla was in a serious car accident several years ago and has overcome many struggles on her road to recovery. Several days after the accident, Kyla awoke in the hospital to discover that she had severe facial fractures, a punctured lung and a broken back; she was paralyzed from the waist down. Her first struggle was the physical healing of her injuries. The pain from both her initial injuries as well as the multiple surgeries required to repair what doctors could, was at times unbearable, but she fought through it. Then came the emotional struggles; Why did this happen to her? What about her dream of playing basketball? Who would want to marry her? Although her questions were many, she was able to find a way to accept

Many times, we have memories that we would like to forget, such as an unpleasant or traumatic experience. My memory of my first internship was something that I always tried to forget, along with a lot of other negative experiences in my life. However, now that almost two years have passed, and after reflecting on it time and time again, I began to reclassify that memory as a learning experience rather than a negative experience. In life, we are faced with many obstacles, sometimes on a daily basis. Our society values stories of overcoming life’s obstacles because they are inspiring, interesting and may lead to personal growth.

Suffering a broken leg, which would later become infected, Miss Sasaki never lost the will to stay alive despite the insurmountable pain and weakness she experienced.

In the article “Woman of Action” by Steve Mazzucchi, talks about a 19 year old Amy Purdy, who grew up in Las Vegas and loved sports, struggled with a bacterial infection that nearly took her life on the summer of July, 1999. Amy was an “adventurous sport lover”, Makeup Artist and massage therapist, who planned to travel the world and snowboard, was infected with “bacterial meningitis” disease that “hospitalized her, put her into three weeks of coma, wrecked her kidney and even caused her legs to be amputated below her knees”. Amy recovers from her condition with no legs and felt hopeless. Her weight had dropped from 130 to 83 and couldn’t do anything. Amy contacted prosthetic manufactures for snowboarding prosthetics

The day came, it was time for her to have her first surgery on her left hip. The surgery took seven hours but it went well. Now comes the therapy and trying to get better so they can do the other side. Quinley spent a lot of time on the couch because she couldn't do anything. After awhile she started to have

Jane had undergone several surgeries to her left leg due to crushing both her tibia, fibula as well as her broken ankle. Jane had also broken her femur on her left leg. Jane spent several weeks in the hospital recovering from her injuries. When she was stable enough, she was transferred to an inpatient rehabilitation facility in the hospital. Jane had spent about two weeks at that facility. During which her daughter had moved her dad in with her due to his needs. Jane was now even further away from her family. Jane had demonstrated good steady progress however, due to