Well, I heard about this site on tv one day and decided that I wanted to join myself. I was born with something called Amniotic Band Syndrome. I am not too sure what all it meant, but I was born without my leg cause it fell off in the womb, and I was also missing some finger and my toes on my right leg. They had to pull the bands out of my wrists and ankle. I had my first surgery when I was 5 months old. to separate my remaining fingers and toes. And I had my bone cut down 4 times. So I know how it feels to be amputated but I don't know the feeling of losing the entire leg since I never actually had one outside of the womb. I learned to walk at the normal age with a prosthesis that attached to my diaper. I've lived my life as an open book and shared my disability with anyone who wanted to know. On the first day of school every year I would tell the teacher and my whole class about it so that they would know that I was comfortable with questions. I learned very early how sheltered some people's lives could be. I have had many different reactions to it, but I find it a wonderful way to weed out the people I wouldn't want in my life. When I was 11 my orthopedic doctor asked me to talk to this girl who was a little older than me who had cancer and they had to amuptat her leg and I had no idea what to tell her other than the fact that my leg hadn't hindered my life in any way. I would sit in the prosthetists office waiting for them to see me and all the people in the waiting room would ask me if I was waiting for my mommy or daddy or grandparents, and I would just smile and say, no I am waiting to get my new leg. People would tell me how brave I was and what an inspiration they found me, and I would always wonder why. It was all I had known. Then I met people who have never had surgeries and started to realize that I was different. I am proud of who I am and very glad that I am the one of my siblings that got this. I know that I can handle it. The on;y frustrating things about it for me are when I pull into a handicapped space and get out of the car and get looks from people and comments about how rude it was of me to take my grandparents placard and use it, I get upset about that sometimes, and the fact that jobs never seem to want to bend to help me out. So I have adapted myself to them. I stick it out through the pain, cause as we all know, the world runs on money. Now I am the most able bodied person in my house. I moved back in with my parents 2 years ago when my step-dad had a stroke to help out here, and have been here since. Doing what I can to make things easier for them. I think I have made this long enough though. I'm normally much more upbeat and stuff. Thanks for reading it if you got this far. I'm excited to meet and talk to people who will understand the things I go through and I am so excited for the opportunity to help others in any way i can.

Hugs

Traci