“Don’t be afraid to fail, because some of your most rewarding blessings come from your hardest failures.” – Kristin Duquette
photo courtesy: Endless Abilities

 Meet Kristin Duquette, a 22 year old passionate about disability youth, sport and empowerment.  At the age of 9, Kristin was diagnosed with Muscular Dystrophy (FSHD).  She had to re-adapt her life and was determined not to let her disability deter her from fulfilling her goals and dreams. At 16, she went back to one of her first loves – swimming.  She had to re-learn her skills and eventually became part of her high school’s swim team.  Her swim coach encouraged her to train for the Paralympics and she trained with the determination that has become her trademark.

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Camp No Limits is a non-profit organization providing camps for children with limb loss, and education, mentorship, and support to these children and their families, dedicated to making sure they never feel their potentials are limited.

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Jordan Thomas is an avid golfer

At the age of 16,  Jordan Thomas was washed overboard by a wave while he was preparing to scuba dive and it sent him right into the propeller.  He lost both legs below the knees. While still in the hospital, Jordan became aware of how lucky he was to have a family that could afford prosthetics and care and realized that something should be done for those children who did not have those resources.  Insurance plans often either do not  cover the entire cost of a prosthetic or may only pay for one during a lifetime.  Children grow and they need prosthetics replaced.

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Amy Purdy

When she lost both of her legs to bacterial meningitis in 1999 at the age of 19, Amy Purdy thought she would never snowboard again.  Everyday she dreamed about the sport she loved and began a mission to figure out a way to do it again – the type of feet which would work, the necessary types of sockets, how to keep the legs attached.  Then 2 years later – kidney failure and she had to have a kidney transplant, but her passion for snowboarding never left her. 

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At the age of 15, a train accident severed Brooke Artesi’s right leg at the ankle as she was boarding a passenger train with some friends.   “It was before they had doors that automatically open on the platform. It started moving and it just sucked me right under the train,” Artesi said. “It should have cut me right in half.”  She became a transtibial amputee determined to lead a physically active lifestyle.

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