Surprise visit by Komo 4 News

Tuesday I was contacted by Molly Shen from KOMO 4 News who is doing a Christmas Special on the Wounded Warrior Project in WA. She wanted to add a piece on myself and my use of the "Genium" which was the first military grade prosthetic knee built by Ottobock. The portion I will be apart of will show how the government funding for building these military grade prosthetics not only allow those wounded soldiers to return back to duty in the field, but also benefits the public as well! it is going to be such a great story so once I hear more about when it will air I will post the information on here as well.
We filmed my Badminton course and how I'm able to still teach physical education with the help of the Genium. Following class, Molly then accompanied me to my last training session before my Powerlifting meet this Saturday.
We went to Ellensburg's only Crossfit gym in town owned by a friend of mine, Taylor Clark.
Molly filmed me performing tire flips, rope climb, kettle bells with the Genium and 1 legged Deadlift, and 1 legged squats without it.
Followed by that we had our FCA (Fellowship of Christian Athletes) Christmas ugly sweater part and gift exchange. Overall a great day in Ellensburg!

Altoona - Day 2

Woke up at 530 am ET bright am early to leave Pittsburg and drive 2 hours to Altoona.
Similar to Day 1, we had 4 amputees to work with starting from 8 am clear to 3 pm. What we did was swapped the amputees knee out for the Genium and had them trial run it than swapped them back into their previous knee.
I had the privilege to work with 2 veterans and 2 others who were amputated to to a bad accident.
Both veterans were such a pleasure to work with and loved the knew. One gentleman was amputated from WWII and was so uplifting and motivated, it was a true pleasure to listen to his stories he shared with me of being an amputee and being a full part of the growth of technology!
The third gentleman I worked with in the afternoon was a cross country runner who endured a terrible infection that lead to many surgeries with the final result being his above knee amputation. He was amputated at an early age as well and now being in his 50s all he's wanted is to run again, but has not had a prosthetic that e could trust to do so. Once we swapped his legs we took him outside to try in out and he at first was very apprehensive, so nervous and overall scared to trust the knee enough to place any of his body weight into. I then walked around with him and coached him through using the knee and he slowly became more comfortable. I then brought with up a short grassy hill that was wet to walk down with him. He was terrified at first because his other knee would collapse on him causing him to fall every time. So I again coached him on how to ride the knee down and as he tried with me he threw out his arms to balance and I grabbed onto his hand and held it as we descending the hill together. Once reaching the bottom he was so relieved he was instantly brought to tears.. I was so touched! This man has not been able to walk comfortably for 30 years and to see him light up and cry because he is so thankful is Priceless. It brought me back to the time where I took my very first steps after loosing my leg.. Brings me to tears every time including now!
I am so excited for these amputees to hopefully receive their own Genium cause I know just by working with then for 2 hours, it will change their lives so much for the better!
After the last patient we said our goodbyes and loaded up for the 5 hour drive to Philadelphia. Slept the entire drive and got to the hotel around 730 where once we checked in we left for dinner by 8. We went to the sushi restaurant The Fat Salmon, which was amazing!
Since my accident I made a promise to myself to never give up, never say never and never look back! With food I wanted to not hold back and try everything at least once giving myself a chance to experience something that I came so close to never having the chance to. By holding myself to this I no love All food in some sort of way, especially sushi! For this trip I finally tried eel for the first time and oh my goodness have I been missing out!! Following a great dinner we went back to the hotel for the night where I had the chance to sleep in that following morning.

Trip to the EastCoast!

Day 1-
Began at 6 am where we drive into the heart of downtown Pittsburg to Hanger Prosthetics office where we worked with 3 amputees. 2 were looking to be fitted with the Genium (same MP Knee as myself) and 1 gentleman that had the Genium for 2 weeks, but was having technical issues with it.
As my fellow amputees were fitted we were able to share our stories where 2 people were torn up by machinery they were working on, one at a saw mill and the other a steel mill. The man trying the Genium for the first time went on a good 30 minute walk with me outside on the unlevel and sketchy streets while we shared life stories with each other, something I've never had the chance to do! The 1 woman I worked with was in a motto cycle accident with her husband where a car had hit them and both had to be airlifted to the nearest hospital and the woman had the same side amputation as myself, but at the age of 47!
Let me tell you this woman was so motivated and driven and as soon as she began to walk with the Genium on she lit up the room even more!
Following the last fitting we drove straight to the hospital where we set up to give a presentation to 60+ individuals that included surgeons, prosthetists, physical therapists and aka amputees.
The presentation was a mixture of PowerPoint, speaking and demonstrating followed by Q&A. Had a great presentation then during Questions I had many people ask how to perform certain acts with the Genium and everyone loved when I performed my 1 legged squat from the floor to stand up!
I also met a fellow Powerlifter who is retired and opening up an amputee ballroom dance studio in Pittsburg, which I am so bummed I won't be able to try out due to living so far away!
We ended the night by driving up the hill to see the skyline at night.