BE MORE ADAPTIVE Caitlin Conner

[00:00:00] [SPEAKER_03]: Welcome to another episode of the AMPD UP211 Podcast. Today we have an incredibly inspiring guest joining us,

[00:00:07] [SPEAKER_03]: Caitlin Conner, raised in a small town in Central Texas, Caitlin's life took a dramatic turn just before her 24th birthday.

[00:00:16] [SPEAKER_03]: A motorcycle accident led to the amputation of her left leg while she was newly pregnant.

[00:00:22] [SPEAKER_03]: But her resilience and determination have made her a beacon of hope and empowerment for many.

[00:00:28] [SPEAKER_03]: Caitlin is not just a survivor, she's a trailblazer. From participating in adaptive sports to founding the groundbreaking nonprofit,

[00:00:37] [SPEAKER_03]: BE MORE ADAPTIVE. She's on a mission to create a more inclusive world for individuals with disabilities.

[00:00:43] [SPEAKER_03]: She's also a model, public speaker and a proud mom to her daughter, Tindley.

[00:00:48] [SPEAKER_03]: Get ready to be inspired by Caitlin Conner's story of courage, determination and relentless positivity.

[00:00:54] [SPEAKER_03]: I want to welcome to the show, Caitlin Conner, how are you today?

[00:01:08] [SPEAKER_00]: Hello, thanks for having me. I am great how about you.

[00:01:13] [SPEAKER_03]: We're doing fantastic here in beautiful, jolly at Illinois on this summer day.

[00:01:20] [SPEAKER_03]: Such an incredible pleasure to meet you, Caitlin and it's hard for me to sort of look at the last 10 years of your life.

[00:01:33] [SPEAKER_03]: And think, yeah, we can cover all this in a podcast that's one hour long.

[00:01:39] [SPEAKER_03]: I'm like, no, there's no way. There's so much.

[00:01:44] [SPEAKER_03]: I was thinking about you this morning on my drive-in and I thought, you know, we're lucky here.

[00:01:50] [SPEAKER_03]: We're not going to have 50 episodes. We've been doing this for a couple of years.

[00:01:54] [SPEAKER_03]: Our audience is growing and I was thinking, you know, I'm lucky enough to interview

[00:02:01] [SPEAKER_03]: MPT mothers. Sometimes I'm lucky enough to interview

[00:02:05] [SPEAKER_03]: MPT adaptive athletes, high performers, right?

[00:02:10] [SPEAKER_03]: There are also sometimes and I'm able to interview CEOs and founders of charities and doing amazing things in the advocacy space.

[00:02:21] [SPEAKER_03]: And then everyone's in a while, it's rare. But everyone's in a while there might be someone in media, you know, maybe a model or someone in advertising or things like that.

[00:02:32] [SPEAKER_03]: And then I thought to myself, holy S, this girl has done them all. She's done them all.

[00:02:41] [SPEAKER_03]: She is literally, she is literally checked every single box.

[00:02:47] [SPEAKER_03]: And I'm thinking, man, do I feel very, very small right now?

[00:02:54] [SPEAKER_00]: Oh, no, no, no.

[00:02:54] [SPEAKER_00]: It's like, Rick, what have you done?

[00:02:56] [SPEAKER_00]: Well, no. So the Caitlin you're meeting today is very different from the Caitlin 10 years ago.

[00:03:04] [SPEAKER_03]: I know. I know that and this is our first meeting and I know that.

[00:03:10] [SPEAKER_03]: Just by the research on you, it's overwhelming. It really is.

[00:03:15] [SPEAKER_00]: It's like, you're welcome. I tried to put it out there for you. So it's not as much work.

[00:03:20] [SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, I guess that means our work. I'm sorry.

[00:03:22] [SPEAKER_03]: No, no, actually, actually not at all. And I've obviously and I'm trying to recall who introduced me to you as far as potential guest.

[00:03:36] [SPEAKER_03]: I wasn't able to trace it back.

[00:03:40] [SPEAKER_03]: But I had put the feelers out, you know, many, many months ago and I was just thrilled when you reached out and said, hey, I think the timing's right.

[00:03:53] [SPEAKER_03]: We should do this. Let's go.

[00:03:55] [SPEAKER_00]: Well, and you said, you're not going on 50 episodes.

[00:03:59] [SPEAKER_00]: Well, today is the anniversary of the 34th anniversary of the 88.

[00:04:05] [SPEAKER_03]: Oh, wow. I did not know that.

[00:04:07] [SPEAKER_00]: It's 34 years. We still have a lot of work to do.

[00:04:10] [SPEAKER_00]: Yeah. But yeah, I mean, without the ADA, we wouldn't be where we are today as individuals with disabilities.

[00:04:17] [SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, that's true. And I mean, I can look back 10 years ago from when I was first in MPT and boy has a change. It really has even just from a technology standpoint.

[00:04:29] [SPEAKER_00]: I think about my first prosthetic to what I have now. And I mean, I'm working with Dr. Hugh Hurret,

[00:04:35] [SPEAKER_00]: by Onick Skins and we're developing 3D printed custom liners, right? To fit your limb so that you don't have the gapping and gaping that happens with regular liners, right?

[00:04:49] [SPEAKER_00]: And it was not the case when I was first in MPT.

[00:04:52] [SPEAKER_03]: And yeah, I'm glad to see progression and I'm hearing this a lot about the custom liner concept.

[00:05:04] [SPEAKER_03]: I'm I'm I'm not at that point.

[00:05:07] [SPEAKER_03]: I'm still using a, you know, a traditional gel liner.

[00:05:13] [SPEAKER_03]: And everyone I've spoken to in the competitive space, in that high performance, you know, athletic space has told me like you, you cannot run, you know, a marathon in a standard gel liner. You just can't.

[00:05:33] [SPEAKER_03]: It's it's going to misshapen, it's going to buckle. It's going to do things because it's great for everyday use and walking around and you know light duty. Let's call it.

[00:05:46] [SPEAKER_03]: But once you start performing on that very high level, I've been told that you, it's almost like a must have because.

[00:05:54] [SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, I mean, it's it's it's really important to have something that's in sync with your body, right, which is, which is why you see so many people working to develop.

[00:06:04] [SPEAKER_00]: To develop.

[00:06:07] [SPEAKER_00]: Adjustable sockets, right? Because our bodies constantly change shape. I mean, whether I just took a sip of tea. That's going to change my body volume, right?

[00:06:15] [SPEAKER_00]: Yeah. I can go have alcohol or have too much salt or go to the restroom and my body volume will change, right? That's not counting people with lymphedema or diabetes or things that also take in factors.

[00:06:28] [SPEAKER_00]: And as a woman, nobody talks about this to women by the way, as patients. So any women listening.

[00:06:34] [SPEAKER_00]: I have just now, I'm 34 and it took me like two years ago, like, took me eight years to realize this that when I'm about to go into a cycle as a woman.

[00:06:46] [SPEAKER_00]: Your your body fluctuates, right? It really fluctuates with hormones and as an amputee, it didn't really hit me that, oh, why can't I, why is, why is my leg fitting at one point but not the other.

[00:06:59] [SPEAKER_00]: But I'm the exact same weight, right? But but it's you have the difference between muscle weight. You have fat weight in your water weight, right?

[00:07:08] [SPEAKER_00]: And they're all different and they take different shapes and forms on your body and they're all very natural, right?

[00:07:13] [SPEAKER_00]: So I mean, people will try to tell you, oh, the lose weight, but sometimes that weight can be something like water, which you really need water to be to be a healthy individual.

[00:07:22] [SPEAKER_00]: Your body is made mostly of water. And more than 70% of at least the US population is chronicly dehydrated. I'm part of that percentage.

[00:07:33] [SPEAKER_00]: And as a woman who goes through a cycle and your body fluctuates, right? You're retaining like six pounds of water depending on your body.

[00:07:41] [SPEAKER_00]: But then you're dehydrated, right? And so your bodies all out of whack and it really translates to the prosthetic and how it fits and why it is or is not fit.

[00:07:52] [SPEAKER_00]: And then I'll go out of a cycle because I'm still a chronicly dehydrated. I cannot physically remember to drink water.

[00:08:00] [SPEAKER_00]: My brain doesn't remember until it's far too late and some of that's ADHD and some of that's doing way too much, like a way too busy.

[00:08:07] [SPEAKER_00]: And I kind of put myself in danger doing that. So when I go out of a cycle and I lose that water weight that's being retained,

[00:08:14] [SPEAKER_00]: then I'm so far atrophied in my socket that I'm buying me out. And it has nothing to do with the socket shape at that point.

[00:08:22] [SPEAKER_00]: It's just me not having controller with my own body, but that's very normal and common, but people don't talk about enough.

[00:08:29] [SPEAKER_03]: Yeah, no, that's very true. And it's such an important topic to cover for females especially because if there's anything, you know, a partner of mine has ever complained about,

[00:08:43] [SPEAKER_03]: you know, I'm retaining water or I'm losing water or, you know, if you'll bloated or, you know, there's this sort of like constant value, you know kind of balance that you're trying to maintain.

[00:08:56] [SPEAKER_03]: And it's a battle sometimes and it you're right. It can very often have nothing to do with simply, you know, they're in that cycle of change every month and they're experiencing those things.

[00:09:09] [SPEAKER_03]: So no, incredibly important and definitely not something that we talk about enough in this particular space.

[00:09:18] [SPEAKER_03]: Going back to what you're mentioning about liners, prosthetics, things like that.

[00:09:25] [SPEAKER_03]: Currently for yourself, giving your, your schedule and you know, I've seen you, I've seen plenty of images of you online.

[00:09:38] [SPEAKER_03]: And you employ many different forms of prosthetic.

[00:09:45] [SPEAKER_03]: And sometimes I wonder, okay, is that just for the photo? Is that actually a functioning piece that you're wearing?

[00:09:53] [SPEAKER_03]: Obviously when I see you competing, I see running doing things that are active. Of course, that's, you know, a running blade or that's, you know, a single strut socket or, you know, something of that nature.

[00:10:06] [SPEAKER_03]: But there's often times where I'll see you and let's say, you know, a modeling kind of space. And I think, okay, that's completely different than anything I've seen before.

[00:10:19] [SPEAKER_03]: So give me some insight into the spectrum of devices that you've seen and experienced and, you know, some of your faves, some of your things are like no way I could never live in that kind of perspective.

[00:10:34] [SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, that's a great question because I do have several legs at this point ten years in and they all function in different ways.

[00:10:44] [SPEAKER_00]: And until I mean we do have now the ability to have where you can switch off heat, right? You have the, and don't have the right terminology but kind of the couple where you can switch out devices to the same socket, right?

[00:10:56] [SPEAKER_03]: Yeah, I'm not a prosthetic, sorry. I don't know.

[00:10:58] [SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, somebody out there knows it. You could have, well, all of them are on there and he'll tell you exactly what it is. But, so I know that exists but that's not how my setup is and it's very hard as an established MPT to change into that system, right?

[00:11:28] [SPEAKER_00]: And some of the legs are posterior around it, right? And those cannot be adjusted. Those are actually my favorite personally when they're done really well. They're super lightweight. They're very in sync with your body but you can't change them out and that would anybody's out there trying to create something like fixing this posterior mounted issue would be amazing to be able to add this change ability to a posterior mounted socket would be great.

[00:11:56] [SPEAKER_00]: Because it's lighter and it's in sync with your body. I am so picky about the weight of my, of my prosthesis now just having done what I've done and been an amputee for ten years sounds long to new and every team but it's really not that long.

[00:12:17] [SPEAKER_00]: But I mean, so I have to remember all of my legs. I've my everyday leg. I've got a couple posterior mounted legs running blade. I've got now a speed skate prosthesis that we've been working on.

[00:12:30] [SPEAKER_00]: I do have a high heel leg, which I'll use for figure skating as well. So some have multi purposes. I have a rock climbing foot, which is only good for rock climbing. Yeah. And yeah, so it's it depends on what I'm trying to do and just being prepared by having that.

[00:12:48] [SPEAKER_03]: Yeah, and that's something that most people will get into this headspace of well, how is that person doing all these things and you know why, you know, why am I, you know, not advancing. Why am I not thriving right.

[00:13:07] [SPEAKER_03]: So yeah, it naturally segues into that conversation of what is so incredibly problematic about obtaining prosthetics and I guess the thing that I struggle to wrap my brain around is the idea that the people that need the best adaptive devices to get back to normal are the ones that

[00:13:37] [SPEAKER_03]: don't qualify for those devices. If someone is fit, if someone is typically younger has a very, very active lifestyle has, you know, some sort of appeal, you know, to marketing let's say a product.

[00:13:57] [SPEAKER_03]: They tend to exist in that space of hey, I've got all the best gear. I've got all the latest equipment that I need. So when you look at that coming from, you know, your your experience as an amputee, how does it make you feel when you see people get stuck in that space of I can't get what I need.

[00:14:24] [SPEAKER_00]: Let me start with the most important thing I can say about that topic is comparison is a killer right like everybody has gotten to where they are from their own scenarios and their own experiences. And so when you compare yourself to somebody else, you're setting yourself up for failure.

[00:14:41] [SPEAKER_00]: And I do this all the time, right? This is advice that I have to follow because I've got friends who are parallel impedance too and I went down the parallel and they pipeline for a hot minute.

[00:14:51] [SPEAKER_00]: And then realized very quickly it wasn't what I actually wanted. And then I had to accept that I'd used years of my life trying to go to the parallel fix and then it wasn't what I wanted.

[00:15:04] [SPEAKER_00]: But, you know, you learn so much when you do these things. So I mean the best thing you can really do is just get out there and try something and experiment and try new experiences.

[00:15:13] [SPEAKER_00]: But as far as access, the biggest issue we have is accessing resources. So which is why I created be more adaptive and it started out be more adaptive is a 501 c3 non profit.

[00:15:29] [SPEAKER_00]: It started out a Facebook group. Facebook groups still exist today, but we're actually working on building our own platform that's actually accessible because Facebook is not very accessible.

[00:15:41] [SPEAKER_00]: We can cut out those umms. Yeah, that's a bright note.

[00:15:45] [SPEAKER_03]: Yeah, put a marker right there cut out the umms.

[00:15:50] [SPEAKER_00]: So I created be more adaptive because of my own personal experience as an adaptive athlete originally it was called the world of adaptive sports and fitness.

[00:16:01] [SPEAKER_00]: Which is a very long name. It didn't suit well for our website domain. So yeah, right.

[00:16:05] [SPEAKER_00]: I wrote in it and it ended up being probably one of the better choices because originally the group was around accessing sports with disabilities.

[00:16:14] [SPEAKER_00]: It started out basically a bunch of my friends who were amputees and wheelchair users and then eventually it grew into all types of disabilities and I needed to.

[00:16:24] [SPEAKER_00]: And then because so many people need access to sports and sports equipment and training and just being healthy healthy individuals and a in a land where our insurance does not encourage us to be healthy.

[00:16:38] [SPEAKER_00]: Right, we don't get benefits for being healthy people in the United States and that's just the truth.

[00:16:46] [SPEAKER_00]: We're not set up for success. So what we do have though are a lot of non-profits and some for profits who are in our favor that can do things like provide grants to sporting equipment training things like prosthesis and wheelchairs.

[00:17:03] [SPEAKER_00]: But we generally as end users don't know how to find them because what happens we go out to the world of Google or wherever you search and you're searching with absolutely everything else on the web.

[00:17:15] [SPEAKER_00]: Right, and you may not know how to search. You may not have the ability to search and you may not have time to search.

[00:17:22] [SPEAKER_00]: And that's exactly why B.M.R. Adaptive became more than sports.

[00:17:27] [SPEAKER_00]: We realized it needed to be more than sports topics, all life topics so everything from hospital facilities to clothing adaptive clothing lines to you know our podcast.

[00:17:37] [SPEAKER_00]: We want to know where to go find our support groups and our podcasts and hear these real-life stories right but we need one place to do it and that's what that's what B.M.R.R. Adaptive is working on right.

[00:17:47] [SPEAKER_03]: Yeah, so to break it down right to the basics. It's a resource tool.

[00:17:55] [SPEAKER_03]: It's a platform that you're building out that you'll be able to get resources, get you know connections referrals good information solid information no matter what your disability correct.

[00:18:15] [SPEAKER_00]: You'll be able to put in your location anywhere on the world.

[00:18:19] [SPEAKER_00]: Your disability or disabilities plural and the type or types plural of resources you're searching for and populate real results and what that does is it tells us where these resources exist currently and where they don't exist so that will help alleviate things like say we'll use he's in for an example right we have a lot of nonprofits and in this morning arena right.

[00:18:41] [SPEAKER_00]: So say you have one nonprofit that creates an adaptive sports club for amputees and you have one right down the street that also does a very similar program.

[00:18:52] [SPEAKER_00]: Now what we're trying to do is also put this back into the end users hand a little bit of power of choice right because not every personalities going to fit every nonprofit and the nonprofit side feels that too right and maybe they can't fill every need so they feel pressure to start these new programs that might

[00:19:11] [SPEAKER_00]: be already exists in city but they may not even know about.

[00:19:15] [SPEAKER_00]: But what that does is that nonprofit creates.

[00:19:19] [SPEAKER_00]: They'll get a lot of funding for this program, they'll pull more volunteers but that can kind of hurt the other nonprofit set exist but then that nonprofit that's creating a new program I'd be pulling more funding and volunteers or mother programs that are the offers which could harm that nonprofit.

[00:19:36] [SPEAKER_00]: Right so for the end user gets really confusing we want to know where to go but we also want to know.

[00:19:42] [SPEAKER_00]: You know what it past experiences have been and be more adaptive goal is not to.

[00:19:48] [SPEAKER_00]: We'd like to have a rating system as well that people can input their experiences but not not to make it to where we want.

[00:19:56] [SPEAKER_00]: For profits non-profits to disappear because there was a bad experience we would want to connect them with consultants and give them that live that live advice.

[00:20:06] [SPEAKER_00]: And say here act on this because if that resource doesn't exist then whatever personalities that would have worked with it are now stuck with another resource that they don't really aren't compatible with.

[00:20:20] [SPEAKER_00]: So the whole point is about balance and your your life right.

[00:20:25] [SPEAKER_00]: platforms not live so right now are our most live resource is the Facebook group where everybody can go in and hey this is what I'm looking for and members in the group can help out.

[00:20:36] [SPEAKER_03]: Okay, so this is going to become.

[00:20:39] [SPEAKER_03]: I could see like massive potential for something like this because to have a hub right that you can.

[00:20:50] [SPEAKER_03]: Draw vetted information real time information about a specialty you know like you mentioned you know a podcast some form of PT some form of OT.

[00:21:04] [SPEAKER_03]: A prostitist you know a therapist I mean I mean the possibilities are huge I mean the potential to provide you know let's call it this you know digital you know kind of yellow pages of here's all the things that you need and you can pick and choose.

[00:21:27] [SPEAKER_03]: Your path here and we're just providing really really good resources for people that are struggling in a spruce in a particular space right because we all get stuck kind of what we're mentioning before.

[00:21:42] [SPEAKER_00]: And so yeah the thing that I would find is some of these kind of directories do exist so there are say directories for amputees.

[00:21:52] [SPEAKER_00]: So you can go to the amputee coalition find a directory of resources right.

[00:21:57] [SPEAKER_00]: You can find the same for cancer societies and down syndrome and everything but there's not one place doing that for all disabilities.

[00:22:03] [SPEAKER_00]: Yes. And so that's what we're looking to do is have one place because a lot about disability is intersectional and as somebody with a disability with multiple disabilities I don't want to have to go to multiple places to find the resource I need.

[00:22:19] [SPEAKER_03]: Well and pressing into the name you know be more adaptive I mean that kind of encapsulates what your mission statement is which is.

[00:22:33] [SPEAKER_03]: I always used to say I realized how to get out of my comfort zone and create forward movement when I started to really receive and absorb the idea of adaptation.

[00:22:48] [SPEAKER_03]: This is all about adaptation life goes on.

[00:22:54] [SPEAKER_03]: I mean it's different it looks different it might feel different but it's the adaptation piece that is the catalyst for that forward movement and if you have the resources that you need.

[00:23:09] [SPEAKER_03]: Right to receive that and do well with it. You are going to make incredible gains and move forward in your journey.

[00:23:20] [SPEAKER_03]: And I think it's a wonderful concept and I you know very much would encourage anyone in our audience to get out there and you know see you out especially if there's there's help.

[00:23:36] [SPEAKER_03]: That you're looking for I'm assuming you need volunteers you need you know I don't know if you need tech people I don't know you know what that scaling looks like from a business perspective.

[00:23:52] [SPEAKER_03]: Do you have a domain at this point is it dot org.

[00:23:56] [SPEAKER_00]: I do so we have be more adaptive dot org and wow so we're building the platform right and our first immediate need of course is funding.

[00:24:06] [SPEAKER_00]: But other things that will need will need beta testers so our Facebook group has about 2,000 people all of which can be beta testers but we'll need far more because the most important thing of creating this platform is making sure that we have people with lived experience.

[00:24:23] [SPEAKER_00]: Giving this insight to us from the very beginning because if we create a product that we haven't utilized so many lived experience then we're just going to create something that's going to have so many bugs it's going to have more lack of access with this is what you see across products that are exists right they haven't.

[00:24:44] [SPEAKER_00]: First gone to the community and said hey what you need because most of the time people with disabilities have already found their work routes.

[00:24:51] [SPEAKER_00]: Yeah we've already said hey this works hey this doesn't and so if there's a business out there that's listening right now you need to start with the disability community first.

[00:24:59] [SPEAKER_00]: If we talk about things like AI technology the biggest mistake AI technology is doing is not first going to the disability community on like any level of AI right it doesn't have to be about disability.

[00:25:14] [SPEAKER_00]: It's our community has figured out how to make things more accessible and by us making it more accessible it doesn't make it inaccessible for somebody without that disability right this is where universal design comes into play and it's really important.

[00:25:28] [SPEAKER_00]: So beta testers for sure and then you know will use UX user experience technicians and UI technicians at some point.

[00:25:40] [SPEAKER_00]: But yeah I mean we're we're ready to start building the platform look at you.

[00:25:45] [SPEAKER_00]: I've been planning this out for years.

[00:25:51] [SPEAKER_00]: The org has been an official org since 2018 but the group has been in existence since 2016 so we've had years of seeing what works and what doesn't work.

[00:26:00] [SPEAKER_00]: And now we're ready to create the actual platform and the concept is the things that exists now the resources that exists now this gives them a way to be learned about as well.

[00:26:11] [SPEAKER_00]: So this doesn't harm those so a lot of people have had hesitation about working with this concept feeling like we would be taking from them.

[00:26:19] [SPEAKER_00]: And I totally understand that that is something that we want to solve and the especially in the nonprofit realm and especially in the disability community.

[00:26:28] [SPEAKER_00]: Because we are fighting for funding, we are fighting for people to use our products and benefit from grants and if we don't use the grants we lose them right.

[00:26:39] [SPEAKER_00]: But part of that is understanding that we can't keep placing pressure on the end user the person using grants or disabled person to only stick with one brand because disability's expensive.

[00:26:51] [SPEAKER_00]: And I learned that firsthand with sports, I can get a say of running prosthesis from the challenge athletes foundation but that only provides me the running prosthesis during that year right what about training what about nutrition and you know travel right all of that is expensive so sometimes you find yourself needing multiple ors.

[00:27:13] [SPEAKER_00]: And what the organization side has been missing is that by allowing the end user to go to multiple works it doesn't keep them from coming back they're not going to be like oh forget that or you know we still have needs.

[00:27:26] [SPEAKER_00]: Right we still need that resource but what it does do is it allows each of these orgs to expand their existence to more people.

[00:27:34] [SPEAKER_00]: And it ends up helping the org side the for profit side and the end user side and that's that's our main goal is really creating this kind of recycle symbol to give an take right the balance that needs to happen in our organizations.

[00:27:48] [SPEAKER_00]: And our community is a whole.

[00:27:50] [SPEAKER_03]: Well it's brilliant stuff and I would recommend everyone that's listening to check it out get behind something like this and you know let's see this materialized so the community can benefit from it.

[00:28:04] [SPEAKER_03]: You know I want to rewind a little bit.

[00:28:09] [SPEAKER_03]: Your specific set of circumstances.

[00:28:13] [SPEAKER_03]: In terms of how you became an amputee is pretty well documented and it's a I mean it reads like a Hollywood script I mean it's.

[00:28:25] [SPEAKER_03]: It's one of them make it up.

[00:28:26] [SPEAKER_03]: Yeah it's.

[00:28:27] [SPEAKER_03]: But it but it's it's so compelling it's so extraordinary.

[00:28:34] [SPEAKER_03]: When I first sort of dove in and started researching what had happened to you 10 years ago.

[00:28:44] [SPEAKER_03]: I could only reflect on my own life experience in terms of you having an accident.

[00:28:52] [SPEAKER_03]: Finding out your pregnant approaching tremendous life changes.

[00:29:00] [SPEAKER_03]: Being a new mother being a brand new amputee.

[00:29:06] [SPEAKER_03]: All.

[00:29:07] [SPEAKER_03]: I'm you know and also finding your active self right because that that was the moment that you said well.

[00:29:15] [SPEAKER_03]: I want to be able to chase my daughter around I want to be able to run away if there's danger I want to you know I want to serve my family to the best of my ability.

[00:29:27] [SPEAKER_03]: So the resilience and strength that it takes to become an amputee singular.

[00:29:34] [SPEAKER_03]: Is incredibly difficult.

[00:29:37] [SPEAKER_03]: Let alone.

[00:29:40] [SPEAKER_03]: Being pregnant a new mother and now I'm going to.

[00:29:45] [SPEAKER_03]: Take on adaptive sports as sort of like a mission.

[00:29:52] [SPEAKER_03]: To not just better myself but push my limits right and all of that is just an I mean it's phenomenal stuff it's.

[00:30:03] [SPEAKER_03]: And was there ever like a like a WTF moment like wow like how is how did all this happen.

[00:30:13] [SPEAKER_00]: All the time yeah I still have I mean I still especially because I.

[00:30:18] [SPEAKER_00]: I've had to come to terms with my personality in the way I am as human being.

[00:30:23] [SPEAKER_00]: I am a community and I can blend in when I need to and stand out when I want right so you can stick me in any situation and I'll be able to survive that.

[00:30:33] [SPEAKER_00]: I'm a situation unless it's a math test that I'm screwed but the the whole part of that meant I had to accept the failures that come with doing too much right.

[00:30:43] [SPEAKER_00]: The the I am proud to say in this podcast I literally just finished my bachelor's degree.

[00:30:49] [SPEAKER_00]: Yeah after a nice 12 year break because just before the accident you know I decided to get married and kind of left off my schooling and then everything else happened.

[00:31:00] [SPEAKER_00]: And then I got to a point where my income was so low because I had lost the job you know I moved you know my marriage felled.

[00:31:10] [SPEAKER_00]: I had so much happened and I was literally having to start from scratch in a very expensive reality.

[00:31:18] [SPEAKER_00]: Yeah disability is not cheap and then you add motherhood and and the cost of being your own daycare system.

[00:31:26] [SPEAKER_00]: And the time that it takes to be home all the time while your partner's working right.

[00:31:33] [SPEAKER_00]: And my my ex and I co-parent okay so we've built up our relationship with friends again don't worry this is not like to this is not to be mean to my ex or anything he's a great person.

[00:31:45] [SPEAKER_00]: And I'm in a great father.

[00:31:48] [SPEAKER_00]: But during our marriage we both had so much trauma because he was in the accident with me my mom had gotten cancer his mom had gotten cancer I just lost my brother right before the accident and three days after that he lost one of his best friends.

[00:32:01] [SPEAKER_00]: So we had always trauma aside from what we physically had.

[00:32:05] [SPEAKER_01]: I don't just by the loss.

[00:32:07] [SPEAKER_00]: Absolutely and you know it hit the fan will say it that way.

[00:32:12] [SPEAKER_00]: And when that happens and you don't have a good foundation for a relationship and you don't have.

[00:32:20] [SPEAKER_00]: Your family around you because they're also falling apart and you haven't been taught how to do things like take care of yourself or seek out mental health care right.

[00:32:30] [SPEAKER_00]: And things fall apart and so for me it was constantly searching what do I do next what do I do next and that's kind of what became where I am now.

[00:32:40] [SPEAKER_00]: I wanted to see what I could do and a lot of that came with failure.

[00:32:46] [SPEAKER_00]: And with that failure came so many lessons and that's why I'm where I end today I had to fell and fell forward it's kind of cliche saying at this point but it's so true.

[00:32:57] [SPEAKER_00]: I wouldn't be where I'm at if I hadn't decided to go forward or things that I was unsure about.

[00:33:04] [SPEAKER_03]: Yeah and I you know I'm in a fortunate position in my work life that I train a lot of people and mentor a lot of people and I will always say to them you know you do realize that success is built on a mountain of failure.

[00:33:26] [SPEAKER_03]: It's built on a mountain of failure. It's just how life is.

[00:33:31] [SPEAKER_00]: It's constantly changing too and I remember okay throw back I was in high school and I decided I wanted to compete for fair clean and no it wasn't because I actually wanted to be fair clean it's because I wanted to prove the system was rigged and was.

[00:33:48] [SPEAKER_00]: Whoever basically sold the most tickets one but I got asked a question and that question was you know what is your idea of success and even though I had no real life experience at that time.

[00:34:01] [SPEAKER_00]: It was a great answer and sometimes as an adult I have to go back to that and it was something along the lines of success is being able to go through life and achieve happiness.

[00:34:14] [SPEAKER_00]: It's and that can be so many things right and it can always change right the things that make us happy 10 years ago aren't necessarily things that make us happy now.

[00:34:25] [SPEAKER_00]: And it shouldn't be that way if we aren't learning we aren't growing and if we're not growing what are we doing right and so for me I had to learn that.

[00:34:35] [SPEAKER_00]: What I said as a teenager was really true.

[00:34:41] [SPEAKER_00]: It sounded good but then I actually realized it was true.

[00:34:46] [SPEAKER_00]: And then you know then you go up and and you look back at some of those things that we say is kids and you're like wait there was really something to it.

[00:34:54] [SPEAKER_00]: The simplicity of the things that we say in our youth can still be applied in an adult that sometimes we forget that.

[00:35:02] [SPEAKER_00]: Like my kid is nine now so she obviously survived the accident she's in a STEM camp right now and.

[00:35:10] [SPEAKER_00]: She is a lot like my personality she likes to do all kinds of things and go places and she can talk to a wall just like I can.

[00:35:18] [SPEAKER_00]: But for me to be successful as a parent for her so that she can grow up and be in a successful adult I have to talk to my failures about it about all my failures with her because if I don't I paint this false picture.

[00:35:32] [SPEAKER_00]: Of oh you wake up and you're successful.

[00:35:36] [SPEAKER_00]: And then what happened you know you get into adulthood and you realize that's all full.

[00:35:42] [SPEAKER_03]: Well I think MPT's get into that space because I'm in plenty of you know social media community groups and I do a lot of different you know talks and meetings and things and.

[00:35:55] [SPEAKER_00]: I know where this is going.

[00:35:56] [SPEAKER_03]: All the fact that most MPTs tend to get into this headspace of.

[00:36:03] [SPEAKER_03]: It's like there's these super glamorous high performers you know doing all the cool stuff where and all the cool stuff the best you know the best blades the best this the best that and.

[00:36:17] [SPEAKER_03]: You know I'm over here suffering because you know I don't know I'm not the golden child I'm not the one that.

[00:36:25] [SPEAKER_03]: It gets all the you know all the great stuff and.

[00:36:30] [SPEAKER_03]: You know I I tend to want to re examine that with people and say well.

[00:36:40] [SPEAKER_03]: What is your goal and have you ever had an opportunity.

[00:36:45] [SPEAKER_03]: Or curiosity about how someone you sort of view as like the pinnacle of success as an MPT.

[00:36:54] [SPEAKER_03]: Have you ever asked them you know what what did they go through to get there you know what trials what failures you know resonating what you said.

[00:37:07] [SPEAKER_03]: Because I can I'll say to someone I can promise you that it has been a daily siege that it has been clawing and scraping it has been nothing but blood sweat and tears.

[00:37:21] [SPEAKER_03]: To get to where they are now and you don't see that.

[00:37:26] [SPEAKER_00]: Go ahead. Nothing is free. Yeah, not the history right you can be given a free blade right but what does that come with that comes with a lot of pressure pressure to do something with it pressure to.

[00:37:40] [SPEAKER_00]: To constantly stay intact with whoever you that to you right there's there's nothing for free right and when you see these high performers right these people that are all over media I've been all over media right and.

[00:37:50] [SPEAKER_00]: I try I don't do it enough. I try to in social media.

[00:37:58] [SPEAKER_00]: I also work marketing is my day job so I do social all the time.

[00:38:03] [SPEAKER_00]: I'm on so many platforms under so many different algorithms my brain wants to explode right so my platform I actually don't do enough work on my own platform my own branding.

[00:38:13] [SPEAKER_00]: But I try to when I'm in social media to talk about these failures and to share things that are really deep and hard to talk about and.

[00:38:22] [SPEAKER_00]: I do it not for just the population but also for myself because especially Instagram specifically it's like a photo album right you know you go back and see this great photo but then you get read what you wrote and you're like, oh that's what I was feeling like.

[00:38:38] [SPEAKER_00]: But that only works if you're authentic right it doesn't work if you're doing something that's trending it doesn't you go back to that is somebody use a creator and you look at things that you did to create.

[00:38:52] [SPEAKER_00]: Purely because they're trending yeah and you lose who are when you do that and people who do that to themselves I've been guilty of this will come back and say who am I you know what is my purpose in life and.

[00:39:08] [SPEAKER_00]: It's exactly why I've thought about writing a book for many years and finally to the point where I know what I want the book to be called.

[00:39:16] [SPEAKER_00]: I just have to put all the words in the book but it's the saying that I use that my adversity lets my purpose right yeah I wouldn't be where I am today if I hadn't gone through so much and I don't think I'm done going through pain.

[00:39:29] [SPEAKER_00]: It would be completely unrealistic most people look at suffering at loss as oh why me you know somebody else the grass is greener right somebody else they're so high but the thing is there's there's actually a complete fairness and loss.

[00:39:50] [SPEAKER_00]: It's not like this perfect.

[00:40:12] [SPEAKER_00]: I'm not coming later in my life.

[00:40:15] [SPEAKER_00]: I still have my parent left that parents going to have to die right I have a partner I be kid I'm constantly thinking about what happens if I die to really.

[00:40:24] [SPEAKER_03]: Well I want to talk about the loss piece because for those who don't know.

[00:40:30] [SPEAKER_03]: I mean, you know, Caitlin was tea bone on a motorcycle by someone who was.

[00:40:38] [SPEAKER_03]: Texting while driving or swiping or who knows what they were doing specifically.

[00:40:47] [SPEAKER_03]: I struggle with this because when I see people just in my every I spend a lot of time in the car when I see people in my everyday life and they are even looking at a screen I'm not even talking about tapping it if they're looking at a screen while they're driving.

[00:41:07] [SPEAKER_03]: Even if they are at a light and it's red I will honk at them.

[00:41:13] [SPEAKER_01]: And I will say do it.

[00:41:15] [SPEAKER_03]: I will honk and I don't land the horn I'm just like do and I'll and I'll look at them and I'll say don't do that.

[00:41:22] [SPEAKER_00]: I'll say one thing though.

[00:41:25] [SPEAKER_00]: If you're in Houston don't honk you'll probably get shot don't do that Houston but it's a while we're not a honking city you just we just aren't a honking city.

[00:41:34] [SPEAKER_00]: But that's just interesting.

[00:41:37] [SPEAKER_03]: The Midwest everyone's like.

[00:41:39] [SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, you go to LA you go to New York you go Chicago like everybody's going to honk on the horn.

[00:41:44] [SPEAKER_00]: Like you're not paying attention and Houston people will sit at the light and you know they're distracted and I'm like not.

[00:41:52] [SPEAKER_00]: I'm a honk like it's gonna be fine but.

[00:41:56] [SPEAKER_03]: But you carry that around.

[00:41:58] [SPEAKER_03]: I mean you you your entire life.

[00:42:02] [SPEAKER_00]: And I'm guilty of texting while driving.

[00:42:05] [SPEAKER_03]: You mean so look at this you mean beforehand.

[00:42:07] [SPEAKER_00]: But before and after.

[00:42:09] [SPEAKER_03]: Wow.

[00:42:10] [SPEAKER_03]: So that's a big reveal that's a big admit.

[00:42:13] [SPEAKER_00]: It is and and this is not something I'm endorsing let me let me state that so.

[00:42:21] [SPEAKER_00]: I think I text more after the accident number four because after the accident I got in social media.

[00:42:29] [SPEAKER_02]: Got it.

[00:42:30] [SPEAKER_00]: And that was my work and I started doing.

[00:42:33] [SPEAKER_00]: So much on every platform that my phone is always going up so if if anyone ever reaches out to me and I haven't answered back I think this happened to you Rick.

[00:42:41] [SPEAKER_00]: If I have to answer back it's because I'm on so many different accounts all the time.

[00:42:46] [SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, I've just recently gotten some some friends actually who are also in the T's.

[00:42:50] [SPEAKER_00]: To help me take on some work because for so long I was a yes man yes woman.

[00:42:57] [SPEAKER_00]: Where you say yes to everything because you're trying not to miss an opportunity sure and I know longer that person.

[00:43:02] [SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, I have had to learn my value and understand that my time is worthy of not sharing all the time.

[00:43:12] [SPEAKER_01]: Absolutely.

[00:43:12] [SPEAKER_00]: And so more recently after getting help right is the times where I'm like you know what I don't have to answer that it's really not that important.

[00:43:23] [SPEAKER_00]: And so as somebody who has both been hit by a car from somebody texting all driving I would die on the spot if I were the one who did that to somebody else.

[00:43:36] [SPEAKER_00]: And I know that and so I've had to learn to teach myself to kind of shut down my brain and it's because the way we receive media the way we receive messaging even is is toxic.

[00:43:48] [SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, and I have I believe that the day that the US that CNN started 24 hour news was really kind of the start of the cycle where we expect everything so immediately.

[00:44:02] [SPEAKER_00]: So for me I've had to go into my own self reflection, my own therapy, my own researching of everything else so really understand that.

[00:44:14] [SPEAKER_00]: It's not as important as we feel like it is no matter how important everybody else makes us think it is right so.

[00:44:22] [SPEAKER_00]: For instance, present and troll election we won't go into any belief system right we don't need to go into a belief system to understand that yes it's extremely important.

[00:44:32] [SPEAKER_00]: However is it something we have to talk about each second of the day or can we stop and get away from somebody else's content somebody else's thoughts and we can go into our own research and reflect their own thoughts so that we as human beings can be more educated on the things that we believe.

[00:44:50] [SPEAKER_00]: And and not just the way we believe them the root of why that belief is there right going all the way back into ourselves and saying why do I feel this way.

[00:45:01] [SPEAKER_00]: And kind of removing those outside sources first and then understanding who we are as individuals before we make these decisions and it's the same thing with ableism right yeah ableism there's internal ableism there's external ableism there's cultural bias right these things that tell us oh I'm not disabled though even though I have a disability I'm not disabled.

[00:45:25] [SPEAKER_00]: Yeah right but I've been doing some research and and I'm not done doing research but now I plan to prove that we're actually all disabled.

[00:45:35] [SPEAKER_00]: Currently everyone so this the WHO says 16% of the world has a disability right but 50% of the world can't even receive a diagnosis.

[00:45:46] [SPEAKER_00]: So if you consider that immediately just those two numbers do you think that percentage of disabilities can be accurate right but then also if I go search okay what percentage of the world has a disability 16% okay what percentage of the world has a physical disability you change of words.

[00:46:03] [SPEAKER_00]: And then what percentage of the world has a mental disability and an intellectual and cognitive right you change those keywords.

[00:46:10] [SPEAKER_00]: You will start to see so fast just how wrong the statistics are on disability.

[00:46:15] [SPEAKER_00]: And then you add things like internal and external ableism and cultural bias right that inability to claim disability because you will be kicked out of the house or you won't get a job or whatever right those statistics are wrong.

[00:46:29] [SPEAKER_00]: And then the internal label isn't right that that really deep sea to believe that if I am disabled something is wrong with me right I have become so much more of a human being since realizing and accepting disability in my life on mental or on so many levels mental physical scene unseen right.

[00:46:54] [SPEAKER_00]: That I can't picture my life without disability now.

[00:46:58] [SPEAKER_00]: Yeah and and it always goes down to personal preference right like we're allowed to feel like we're not disabled and to not identify that way that's okay.

[00:47:08] [SPEAKER_00]: For me the reason why I want to prove this though is because goes back to that thought process if we don't use it we lose it right.

[00:47:15] [SPEAKER_00]: So if we don't prove it who is going to make it if we don't prove that we need access who's going to make the world more accessible.

[00:47:24] [SPEAKER_00]: Right it goes down to parking vouchers right accessibility tags I've had so many people who are amputies come up to me and they say well I'm an army amputee.

[00:47:32] [SPEAKER_00]: Therefore I don't feel like I should have this disability parking pass however how many our manpets is raise your nebs out there if you are an army amputee and you go grocery shopping.

[00:47:44] [SPEAKER_00]: And you have to carry all your groceries up the apartment or wherever right and you get an over use injury from the way you're having to compensate for something.

[00:47:54] [SPEAKER_00]: Yeah or I can't tell you how many times I've had a foot loosened.

[00:47:59] [SPEAKER_00]: I've locked tighted since then a foot loosened mid shopping in a store I've got nothing wrong with the limit at the time but the equipment's not always going to work right.

[00:48:07] [SPEAKER_00]: And if I weren't part in an accessible spot near the entrance I wouldn't have gotten to the allen key that's in my car right so then it's then it's down the policy right so like here in Houston.

[00:48:22] [SPEAKER_00]: I can't remember the actual percentage of people they say have physical disabilities I think it's 20% I could be wrong but.

[00:48:30] [SPEAKER_00]: You're supposed to have.

[00:48:33] [SPEAKER_00]: Oh, I'm sorry for for building for parking lots right you're supposed to have 20% of your parking is supposed to be ADA accessible right but I think it's like 25% of the population has a physical disability just a physical that's not even mental disabilities or.

[00:48:49] [SPEAKER_00]: Since you're here anything like that right doesn't line up so of the of the 20 parking spots the only give you two accessible spots.

[00:48:59] [SPEAKER_00]: When it's actually supposed to be five right.

[00:49:02] [SPEAKER_00]: So when you have when you have individuals that aren't claiming these these accessibility tags it actually harms the communities of whole.

[00:49:11] [SPEAKER_00]: Because now they're like well nobody's getting it right yeah we've looked at numbers we don't need to do it.

[00:49:18] [SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, so that's that's there that's their way of arguing oh we don't need this nobody's using it right so that's why people need to use it in the other part is.

[00:49:27] [SPEAKER_00]: You know you don't always have to use it if you have the tag it's there if you need it right but if you have an injury occur.

[00:49:35] [SPEAKER_00]: Then you already have your tag you don't have to wait to go into an office to get it you don't have to fill the guilt of oh I'm more disabled today right you know you can literally just access life.

[00:49:46] [SPEAKER_00]: And being more accessible and more contribute to society and yourself as human being.

[00:49:52] [SPEAKER_03]: No it's a great point and I myself have you know definitely I'm guilty of.

[00:50:01] [SPEAKER_03]: I refer to it as overcompensating where it's like I'll stop myself and say okay am I trying to prove something to everyone else.

[00:50:12] [SPEAKER_03]: Or am I just trying to prove something to me and how do I parse that out because.

[00:50:19] [SPEAKER_03]: You know my friends I'm you know I'm in my 50s and a lot of my friends tend to break into two categories.

[00:50:27] [SPEAKER_03]: One is their their fit they take care of themselves they're concerned you know about their general health.

[00:50:35] [SPEAKER_03]: And you swing the pendulum way over people have literally like thrown in the towel you know 60 70 pounds overweight.

[00:50:45] [SPEAKER_03]: They do not exercise never go to the doctor you know I'm a man you know I'll go and something breaks you know that kind of attitude and very often.

[00:50:58] [SPEAKER_03]: You know friends will say to me like like you're in the best shape I've ever seen you in.

[00:51:06] [SPEAKER_03]: You know what's that all about and then I reflect on that and I say yeah like what is all that about I mean.

[00:51:14] [SPEAKER_03]: I knew pretty early on if I was going to make.

[00:51:19] [SPEAKER_03]: Being an amputee work let's say if it was going to function for me on a daily basis.

[00:51:26] [SPEAKER_03]: All the research I had done everyone I had spoken to was like up here game because it's going to be harder to walk in a prosthesis and there was no talk about running it was just it's going to be harder to walk.

[00:51:39] [SPEAKER_03]: It's going to be harder to stay mobile it's going to be everything gets harder when you experience limb loss because like you said there's that over use there's that compensating for what isn't there.

[00:51:53] [SPEAKER_03]: So I got in this mindset of you know I've got to do this I've got to change myself I have to develop more active lifestyle so that I can do all the things that I enjoy.

[00:52:04] [SPEAKER_03]: But there are moments where I see myself going back to echo what you said about being the the yes man or the yes woman.

[00:52:15] [SPEAKER_03]: And I'm like I'll do anything.

[00:52:17] [SPEAKER_03]: Oh we want to do this 5k oh yeah I'm doing it oh yeah we want to do this 35 mile bike right oh yeah I'm doing it you know and not even thinking about the consequences of that how well will I feel at work on Monday morning.

[00:52:33] [SPEAKER_03]: How well it will I feel at my granddaughter's birthday party you know.

[00:52:38] [SPEAKER_03]: And my am I going to push myself so hard that I get sick you know like like just under the weather.

[00:52:45] [SPEAKER_03]: Not preserving my sleep not preserving my time because I'm trying to prove something that I'm this super super active dude and then I have to stop myself and say okay.

[00:53:00] [SPEAKER_00]: What are you doing this for like who are you there's a couple of years to that too yeah so I mean it's very common what you just said is so so so common.

[00:53:10] [SPEAKER_00]: I still have a wheelchair at my disposal because I know that we have good days and bad days and it's really nice I use and I walk in the evening time right I totally can put on my prosthetic but sometimes you just want something quicker or you know when I have a sore on my leg.

[00:53:29] [SPEAKER_00]: Then maybe I need to maybe I need a device like that so that I can.

[00:53:33] [SPEAKER_03]: How do you like that how do you like that that I walk.

[00:53:37] [SPEAKER_00]: I consider it a great device.

[00:53:41] [SPEAKER_00]: A temporary device right I do think that of course everything depends on your body right so that walk is not for somebody with unstable hip journeys or you know you have to be able to control the device right.

[00:53:55] [SPEAKER_00]: To me it's safer than using crutches I fall in more on crutches I've never fallen on my eye lock right.

[00:54:00] [SPEAKER_00]: This is not endorsement I do I do love the eye walk and I love the people I walk so this is not or this is not a paid advertisement I promise no it is not.

[00:54:10] [SPEAKER_00]: I've had mine for years and.

[00:54:14] [SPEAKER_00]: And the best thing is like when you come across I had I had to I recently it like oh I'm going to get the new one.

[00:54:20] [SPEAKER_00]: And then so I had a backup and I was like great I'll use it for pool or something to get out on the pool so I'm not getting my prosthetic all well at the time.

[00:54:28] [SPEAKER_00]: And then I had it in the car and there's this guy getting out regular crutches he's not an empty but he like broke his ankle or something.

[00:54:39] [SPEAKER_00]: And you could tell he's in the beginning of his injury and he was in scrubs okay so this is somebody who is a medical professional yeah.

[00:54:47] [SPEAKER_00]: And I've walked up and I was like hey man I know this is awkward but I got to device that will help you not fall when you're going up because he was about to go upstairs.

[00:54:54] [SPEAKER_00]: I was like and you'll be able to you know maintain your muscles so from after things so much and you'll keep working on your hip flexors right he's like yeah let's go.

[00:55:06] [SPEAKER_00]: And then I like I set him up as real awkward because you have to do like a crotch strap and I was like hey but sorry but.

[00:55:14] [SPEAKER_00]: He was cool with it it was fine.

[00:55:16] [SPEAKER_03]: Is it called the crotch strap.

[00:55:19] [SPEAKER_00]: No no I walk in it wrist slap but but I was like I just need you to hold your stuff away for a second so I don't pinch anything.

[00:55:34] [SPEAKER_00]: Leave it to me to walk up to a stranger and then really the weirdest interaction with an amputee today.

[00:55:41] [SPEAKER_00]: Yeah no but but that guy was like how this is great and I was like yeah now you can go tell patients maybe that might need something that's me a little safer right.

[00:55:50] [SPEAKER_00]: Traditional attraction not safe a lot of people that use crutches on the day will definitely go for arm crutches.

[00:55:58] [SPEAKER_00]: Over that for sure but.

[00:56:00] [SPEAKER_00]: So I do keep those devices around because I do expect to have bad days and I'll give you my my biggest trick as an amputee when you get a sore or blister and it's called.

[00:56:15] [SPEAKER_00]: A tiger term but it it's a three emtagantum but it has the CHGL has a little gel pack camera what's called but.

[00:56:24] [SPEAKER_00]: Instead of wearing your because some people can't not wear prosthesis right that you can't get away with it you have to work I want my friends was a roof or he had this massive sore and he had to get up on the roof is an amputee with this incredibly bad sore on his limb.

[00:56:39] [SPEAKER_00]: Yeah and if you were to keep doing that he could cause further damage further damage to the tissue to the bone possible infections which can lead to things like staff infections or further amputation revisions we want to avoid when possible so preventables right.

[00:56:57] [SPEAKER_00]: Yeah the tiger term is a preventable because then and instead of your skin taking on the impact the tiger takes on the impact but the best part about this gel one is it kind of heats up to your body and shapes to your body.

[00:57:11] [SPEAKER_00]: So it doesn't make wearing a prosthetics of difficult the downside is their expensive so you want to talk to your doctor about saying hey I need you to try and get these into the facility.

[00:57:24] [SPEAKER_00]: And explain why and that is preventative care because a lot of the times the doctors don't know about this and that it can use that way so like I've told mine and so now he wants to have that in stock for his patients right so it's easier for.

[00:57:38] [SPEAKER_00]: And then you have to have a doctor at a medical facility to gain access to these both orders than it is for us otherwise it's like 25 dollars pop.

[00:58:16] [SPEAKER_00]: And that's expensive and if you have to wear them.

[00:58:18] [SPEAKER_00]: And you have to sometimes just take it off like I've had full of gelitis from the hair follicles so you should try and shave my legs and you ain't see I don't shave it anymore I'm like hey this leg reminds me my brother now my brother passed away it looked just like his like her yeah so I'm like and my brother and so.

[00:58:38] [SPEAKER_00]: For me that's how I prevent it I don't shave the leg anymore but when I had to look you like this I ignored it it turned into 250 stores and staff.

[00:58:47] [SPEAKER_00]: And if I hadn't gone to the hospital when I did to say hey something's wrong that it would have been an issue and that meant taking two weeks off the prosthesis which was really hard but it's also where you know assistive devices like my I walk him in you know there's plenty out there but.

[00:59:03] [SPEAKER_00]: Use what you have and sometimes airing it out and keeping it clean is the best thing you can do but.

[00:59:10] [SPEAKER_00]: One other note on what you were talking about is as a man.

[00:59:15] [SPEAKER_00]: Okay, this is this is a.

[00:59:17] [SPEAKER_00]: This is very common for men men across the board especially men with disabilities.

[00:59:23] [SPEAKER_00]: As a man in our society.

[00:59:27] [SPEAKER_00]: Because of the way patriarchy and everything works it often places so much pressure on the man right pressure on the man to be the bread maker.

[00:59:38] [SPEAKER_00]: The job holder the one who has to come up with the best money and the family whatever right.

[00:59:44] [SPEAKER_00]: And this is where real feminism comes in right not not feminism that's like just going out and attacking man I mean real feminism is equality.

[00:59:52] [SPEAKER_00]: Real feminism is is understanding that many to break to but by doing that you have to let women take some of those roles right and so as a man.

[01:00:03] [SPEAKER_00]: It's so common for me to look across my mel and PT friends and see them constantly push through things that they just need a break on.

[01:00:12] [SPEAKER_00]: They need a mental break, they need a physical break whether they have a counter part with them or not is not the point.

[01:00:18] [SPEAKER_00]: It's literally the man having to learn self care and mental health care and why it's so important as a man to understand that you can't do everything right and it's so that's why you have you have women like me who are like let me do something.

[01:00:34] [SPEAKER_00]: You know I can do this I can run a company I can run this race I can help you scientific research to make prosthetics better okay so that man can also have a break because when you empower women.

[01:00:47] [SPEAKER_00]: You help men also take back from their life and find who they are because it goes back to purpose a lot of a lot of men who have this thought process of I have to be the best I have to do hardest I can't take a day off.

[01:01:03] [SPEAKER_00]: Is somebody who doesn't understand themselves and their purpose yet that they have to understand.

[01:01:09] [SPEAKER_00]: They are important enough to take a break.

[01:01:12] [SPEAKER_03]: They're important in how to seek help very good advice to all of the men out there that you know we can we can lean on women they're incredibly strong incredibly resilient you are certainly a.

[01:01:28] [SPEAKER_03]: A very fine example of that given your life experience what you've been through.

[01:01:36] [SPEAKER_03]: You know I feel like today we just scratched the surface there's so much like I mentioned at the beginning of this episode to cover and you know I'm hoping at some point we can have you back and maybe get some updates on you know be more adaptive and.

[01:01:57] [SPEAKER_03]: See how that's all coming together of course you know I recently joined that Facebook group and I very much you know we'll be following and supporting in any way that I can.

[01:02:12] [SPEAKER_03]: You know you're like Caitlin is is incredibly bright I appreciate you coming on spending the time.

[01:02:20] [SPEAKER_03]: Giving our audience a little more personal kind of lens to look through with what you're doing and you know everything that you've been through.

[01:02:30] [SPEAKER_03]: And your resiliency is so inspiring to me and the entire community and I wish you so much luck with all your endeavors moving forward.

[01:02:41] [SPEAKER_03]: My name is Rick Bancowski this is the Amped up to 11 podcast and I want to wish everyone health and happiness.

[01:02:48] [SPEAKER_03]: Caitlin thank you I'll see you next time.

[01:02:51] [SPEAKER_00]: Thank you for having me got it.