July 15, 2025 • 46 mins
Jenn had to amputate her right leg due to sarcoma cancer. She committed to helping patients like herself and she soon found her cause in the tragedy of insurance companies not paying for prosthetics for running, swimming, or any other athletic activity. The Move for Jenn Foundation has since paid for 63 activewear prosthetics!
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:02):
Hey, everybody, it's Bill Courtney with an army and normal folks.
And we continue now with part two of our conversation
with Jen Andrews. Right after these brief messages from our
general sponsors, how long between the day they take your
(00:28):
foot and you actually get How long does that when
people have an amputation? What is that gap of time?
Speaker 2 (00:36):
Okay, So I'm going to preface this in case there
are any amputees listening, because I mentor a lot of amputees,
and I always share this information with a grain of
salt because I did not come out of a trauma situation.
I wasn't in an accident, I didn't have chemotherapy, I
didn't have all this additional healing to do. So I
went from like a surgery healing really well. Actually in
(00:56):
the hospital, they said I could be there anyway, anytime,
from like two days to two weeks or more. And
I was out of there on day two. And I
actually I have a really good story about that too.
So the nurse came in with all my things and
there was a walker and I was ready to go,
and she wheels in a wheelchair and I declined it
and I was like, no, thank you, and she said, well,
you have to go all the way down the hall
(01:18):
in the elevator, down through the lobby to the parking lot.
And I looked at her and I said, I walked
myself into this hospital. I'm going to walk myself out.
Speaker 1 (01:25):
Would you use the thing to hop?
Speaker 2 (01:26):
Yeah? I use like an old man, and you hop
and I like step hop, step pop. And I walked
myself out of the entire hospital and I got in
the car and she just kind of sat there and
looked at me like I was insane. But for me,
I needed to do that, Like sitting in that chair, Well.
Speaker 1 (01:42):
That's boss work for me.
Speaker 2 (01:43):
I just knew where my headspace was. I knew where
my goals were. So to answer your question about the prosthetics,
I got my first prosthetic at four and a half
week's post out, which is pretty early, but again I
was only healing from surgery. I didn't have the trauma
of everything else.
Speaker 1 (01:58):
Could deal with. Thob weeks to fop months, depending on
how long it takes to heal up and get that
thing on.
Speaker 2 (02:05):
Probably not five months, but I feel like four to
twelve weeks maybe, depending on sure.
Speaker 1 (02:11):
What do you do use crutches? Or a wheelchair. In
the maintime, I did not.
Speaker 2 (02:15):
Use a wheelchair ever. I used crutches, and then I
used a walker.
Speaker 1 (02:18):
But people just in general amputees and oh.
Speaker 2 (02:21):
Yes, amputees in general wheelchair. I also used the eyewalk,
which is like a handless crutch, where like for a
below the knee amputee you could use it, like for
someone who's had foot surgery, they would use it. But
essentially your knee is balanced on a platform with a
crutch under it. I'm seeing that, yeah, and so I
use that to get around a little bit sometimes. Initially, yes,
(02:43):
I fell with crutches. I was with my mom and
a shopping center. Thank god, they had this thing called
the Ampu shield. It was like a hard shell plastic
that they would put over your residual lem and thank
god I had that on that day. But I missed
the curb and I went down like a sack of potatoes.
And they were doing all this construction in this new
shopping center, and all the country ruction workers like swarm
me and try to pick me up, and they're like, okay.
I was so embarrassed. But thankfully I had that shield
(03:05):
on my leg, so I didn't do any damage. But
had I not had that, it would have been really bad.
Speaker 1 (03:10):
Wow. All right, so up to this point, Yeah, it's
a story of a girl who had a really bad
stroke a lot with a pe sized nodule, had to
get your foot amputated, and you and your friends did
this move for Jim Facebook thing. It was really supportive,
(03:35):
probably woke people up to having to not taking for
granted the things we do have. Great, but that's not
a foundation. No, How does Jim the mom with her
foot chopped off and doing a Facebook thing and having
(03:55):
some people with T shirts morph into a foundation?
Speaker 2 (04:00):
And why so in my initial prosthetic appointments when I
was getting fitted for a walking foot. So with prosthetics,
they don't make one that does everything. So you need
one to walk, you need one to run like a
running blade. You need a waterproof foot if you want
to swim. They make snowboarding and skiing prosthetics.
Speaker 1 (04:17):
Really yeah, how much are these sense costs?
Speaker 2 (04:19):
They are anywhere between like with the socket and everything,
like between five and fifty thousand dollars depending on how
customer might.
Speaker 1 (04:24):
See thousand dollars.
Speaker 2 (04:26):
For what for the customized socket and the specialized foot.
It depends how specialized and how customized. I would say
the average for like just the average is probably fifteen
to twenty thousand. That's a lot, it's a lot of money.
But what's crazy is the lifetime of these prosthetics is
three to five years. So after three to five years,
you have to replace what is a socket.
Speaker 1 (04:47):
I assume the socket is like the cavity of the
prosthetic that your limb.
Speaker 2 (04:53):
Fits into correct and it's custom made to you.
Speaker 1 (04:56):
Yeah, it would be like molded. I would kind of
like and they do a mold of your teeth.
Speaker 2 (05:01):
Yes, but now they're starting to three D scan, but yes,
they before it was like.
Speaker 1 (05:05):
A foam mold or something.
Speaker 2 (05:07):
They would actually cast you and then pour a mold
of the cast.
Speaker 1 (05:11):
So you're sticking your limb into something that they cast you,
and that cast becomes the socket for your limb to
fit into this prosthetic.
Speaker 2 (05:23):
So if you think about, like if you were to
break your arm like that cast, they would take that
and do a cast around your residual limb, let it dry,
take it off. They would pour like a silicone substance
inside to get the shape of your leg, and then
they will make the socket part usually out of like
a carbon fiber that your leg will go in. Does
(05:43):
that make sense? Yeah, okay, but.
Speaker 1 (05:46):
If you want to swim, you gotta have a waterproof one.
Speaker 2 (05:49):
Yep.
Speaker 1 (05:49):
Walking around yep. I guess you want a comfy one.
I don't know.
Speaker 2 (05:54):
Well, everybody likes different things. Actually, it's funny. I was
sitting on it on the plane today next to an mputee,
which like never happens. So we had like a really
good conversation on the plane. But they have feet that
have like microprocessors where it'll have like fluid ankle movement
and it'll kind of keep up with your cadence. They
have ones like I have that have way more like
spring and give back for more energy return, and that's
(06:16):
what I like because I like lighter and more active.
So it just depends on kind of what your goals are.
Speaker 1 (06:22):
But unfinishly crazy.
Speaker 2 (06:24):
It is crazy. Yeah, So in those appointments, I said, okay,
like great, like I wanted I.
Speaker 1 (06:29):
Got another question. Oh yeah, god, I'm so sorry. I'm
thinking through this. Yeah, so if you're going on a
trip to.
Speaker 2 (06:36):
The beach, yeah, I have multiple feet.
Speaker 1 (06:38):
That's my question. Yeah, well, then your luggage fees must
be insane because you get a and I guess you
don't want to put them in your luggage, so do
you carry your foot on?
Speaker 2 (06:48):
So actually it's funny. I have put them in my
luggage before because I never really had a bag that
properly fit my prosthetics. But I'm actually an ambassador for
lou Lemon now and they have a special prosthetic bag
for their Paralympic athletes that's not available for purchase, and
they surprised it with me recently, and so I was
able to carry my prosthetics on.
Speaker 1 (07:09):
And with these things cost him that kind of money,
I wouldn't check them.
Speaker 2 (07:12):
It's horrible, but a lot of times they don't give
you the choice.
Speaker 1 (07:14):
But that's the life of an ampte.
Speaker 2 (07:16):
Right, I know.
Speaker 1 (07:18):
Wow? Okay, So I told you I chase stuff up
trees like schools because this is yeah right, by the way,
I was the keynote for the Paralympics, Were you really? Yeah?
And there's a girl there named Katie Holloway who you
should meet.
Speaker 2 (07:34):
Okay.
Speaker 1 (07:35):
She had her about the same place you did. Had
her first amputated when she was like six or seven, okay,
and she was athletic as she could be, and schools
kept cutting her. She got a prosthetic to let her
play basketball, not special Paralympic basketball, straight up against everybody else, BASKETBA,
(08:01):
and schools kept cutting her because they're like, well, one
leg a girl can't play basketball, and her mom kept saying,
yes you can, Yes, you can. Anyway, she ended up
going to high school and she wore a knee brice
over her prosthetic. Clearly, you don't need a knee brace
(08:21):
when you don't have a leg below there, but she
did it because she didn't want people to think to
not play that. She wanted people to play straight up
against her.
Speaker 2 (08:33):
Absolutely, yeah right.
Speaker 1 (08:35):
She ended up playing college basketball. She at cal State Northridge,
ended up being the sixth man of the year for
the entire conference with one leg, and then she joined
the Paralympics and is a gold medals volleyball player.
Speaker 2 (08:52):
Amazing, three time gold medals. That's crazy. Yeah.
Speaker 1 (08:54):
Her name's Katie Holloway.
Speaker 2 (08:57):
She's Okay, I her amazing.
Speaker 1 (09:00):
So anyway I met her. When you said Paralympics, I
met her. I'm sorry. So that's the one empty tee
friend I have. Okay, it's Katie. How it was? Yeah,
and I think the world of this woman. So you
get your foot yep, all right, but we don't have
a foundation.
Speaker 2 (09:17):
No, so I get a watching foot.
Speaker 1 (09:19):
I said it was when you were getting your prosthetic
as when something.
Speaker 2 (09:23):
Yes, So I was at the prosthetic office getting my
walking foot and I said, okay, let's talk running blades
because I want to get back to everything I did before.
And they looked at me like I was crazy and said, okay, well,
running blades are extra and I said, okay, well what
does extra mean? And they said it's going to cost
you anywhere between five and fifty thousand dollars and they
have to be replaced every three to five years. And
I said, so you mean to tell me that I
(09:44):
was super active before. I want to maintain my healthy
lifestyle and insurance is not going to pay for me
to do that, but they're going to pay for my
health to decline and support that. And they said pretty much.
And I walked out of that appointment, and I was
so angry thinking about all the people who weren't being
active because of the financial burden. And I always say,
the only thing worse than what I went through would
(10:05):
be if it was my child, and I was already
in a situation where as a mom, I couldn't get
out and run and play with my kids at the
capacity that I wanted to. But for the parents who
just went through cancer with their kids, and I mean,
let's be honest, cancer Thankfully I wasn't in this position,
but cancer can do, you know, detrimental things to your
financials and really put you in some hardship situations. And
(10:27):
I just kept thinking about all the families who like
for a parent to tell their kid that they can't
run because they can't afford it. Like I literally my
blood was fricking boiling. And so I walked out of
that appointment. I was like, I like, this is wrong,
this is not okay. I want to do something about it.
And so we launched movie. And I had a background
an insurance.
Speaker 1 (10:46):
Which is ironic, right, But did you start hating your industry.
Speaker 2 (10:51):
Hating my industry? No, but like not unders, Yeah, like
where are these gaps coming from? And like why is
this like this? And I wasn't in health insurance. I
was in ancilary line. I get it, but still, yeah,
definitely learn the importance of short term disability and long
term disability so yeah, but at the same time, yeah,
I mean, it's a screwed up it's a screwed up system,
(11:12):
and especially in our country, like it's just it's there's
so much wrong, like so much wrong. And so yeah,
so I launched Move for well, we launched Move for
Gen two and a half months after I lost my
leg and almost that really in itself was such a
blessing in disguise because it redirected my focus from myself
to other people, Like it took my story and it
(11:36):
wasn't it wasn't going to be about me anymore.
Speaker 1 (11:39):
So what was the goal? Figure out how to raise
money for prosthetics for people who can't afford them.
Speaker 2 (11:45):
Yeah, so that's the goal.
Speaker 1 (11:46):
That's the whole Move for Gen idea.
Speaker 2 (11:48):
The idea behind Move for Gen was to raise funds
for sarcoma amputees, so specifically specifically sarcoma, sarcoma cancer and
affiliated disease, and so we wanted to fund active prosthetics
to those who lost limb to cancer and then also
sarcoma research because there's not a cure and there's not
enough research, and cancer in itself is majorly underfunded, especially
(12:10):
now with everything going on, and it was already bad before,
but for sarcoma, the research for that, out of the
small percentage that is cancer research, is like a fraction
of that. So I wanted to help support that and
figure out a way to make a different And so
that's what we did. This was May of twenty eighteen.
Speaker 1 (12:36):
We'll be right back. So you start a foundation, good
for you?
Speaker 2 (12:49):
Yeah, what happens? So right, So we started a foundation
for you.
Speaker 1 (12:54):
If you start a foundation, but I'm going to do
something really good. Yeah, but who are you? You're this
normal kid, yeah, young girl with kids. Yeah, I mean.
Speaker 2 (13:05):
I'm a normal young mom. That was relatable to everyone.
So coma wasn't relatable, Losing a limb wasn't relatable, But
watching me like take back my life was relatable. Maybe
not the context, but the process. Does that even make sense?
Speaker 1 (13:23):
It does a lot.
Speaker 2 (13:24):
And so, as I was saying earlier, like my support
for me was just next level unreal from the community,
from the world, from my friends and family, like it
was just so beyond And I know that That's what
I was going to say, Like, I know that my
situation was not the norm, and I am so beyond
grateful that I was supported the way I was. But
(13:46):
the cool part about my story is that all of
that support organically rolled over to move for gen Foundation,
and that's how we started a nonprofit and and we
started small like we were grassroots. We started with small
fundraisers with local businesses who supported me and helped me
with prosthetics and then wanted to support helping other people
(14:07):
with prosthetics.
Speaker 1 (14:08):
And how did you find somebody to help the first time?
Speaker 2 (14:13):
I mean, I was already intertwined in the community anyway,
but I feel like people gravitated towards my story and
wanted to help make a difference for me, as like
a local bomb. And then they were like, well, we
like what she's doing and she's changing, she wants to
make an impact, Like I want to be part of that.
And I think sharing my story so openly and organically
(14:33):
and really vulnerably made me relatable to my community and
they wanted to get behind that.
Speaker 3 (14:40):
Okay, so on on when was it twy eighteen, twenty eighteen? Yeah,
something else happened became cancer free.
Speaker 2 (14:51):
Right, yeah? So, And it's crazy that you say that,
because in a conversation I had later, like I always
looked at March twelfth as the day that I lost
my leg, but I had other people in my life
who looked at it as the day that I became
cancer free. And that took me a minute to like
really wrap my head around. And so I wish it's
(15:11):
not the end, it's the beginning, right exactly, because perspective
is everything, and so it took me a little to
like change my perspective of that day. But then my
story became a platform to help other people. And like
I told my doctor before I had my surgery, and
this was before I even had any plan for a
nonprofit or any plan for anything, I said, I don't
know what my life is going to look like, but
(15:33):
I know I'm going to be okay. And I had
tears streaming down my face, and I said, when I'm okay,
I want to help your patients. And I don't know
in what capacity, and I don't know what that's going
to look like, but I want to be the person
that I needed. And so that's kind of what I
chose to do, is to show up for others in
the capacity that I wish that I would have had.
Speaker 1 (15:52):
So what I've read is the only stipulation so you
have to be a resident of the United States. That's
for right now, you go worldwide, which I wouldn't be
surprised if you did, although that may change all right,
and you have to have lost your leg or part
of your leg or however it works for sarcoma cancer
an affiliated disease. One hundred twenty five dollars pace for
(16:14):
a month of exercise classes for an AMPT two twenty
five for a prosthetic liner, which I want to know
about that, okay, six hundred pace for three months physical
therapy for an AMPT, eighteen hundred pace for running blade,
twenty eight hundred pace for driving school. Who would have
even thought, But obviously I guess you do have to
(16:35):
relearn how to do all that.
Speaker 2 (16:36):
Oh. I had to go to Driver's ed as an
adult with in car lessons with to learn how to
use a left pedal with my left foot because I
didn't want handknchils and I'm only five four so crossing
my foot over just I was like on the airbag.
So yeah, I had to be in car with a
random man for eight hours like that was not fun,
but I learned and figured it out.
Speaker 1 (16:56):
Seventy five hundred for a custom made socket for an AMPTP,
which I assume customate socket is.
Speaker 2 (17:01):
The top part, correct, Yeah.
Speaker 1 (17:03):
And then the foot blade whatever attaches to the socket, correct,
which I didn't know yep. And then ten thousand covers
the entire cost of socket. So I have seen amputees
running before, and there's this mesh thing that looks like
a sock that seems to be on their leg. Yes,
(17:24):
in between I guess their skin and the inside of
the socket. Yes, is that right?
Speaker 2 (17:31):
Yes?
Speaker 1 (17:31):
So does that get uncomfortable? Is that rub you wrong?
Speaker 2 (17:34):
Yes? So that's the liner, and the liner will determine
how your leg is suspended to you. So they have
what's called a pin lock socket, where the liner that
goes on your leg will have a pin at the
bottom that locks into the socket. I personally don't like
that because it puts all of your weight on the
bottom of your residual limbs, so like I would feel
(17:54):
it on my bone too much, and I didn't like that.
I have one that has an inner seal so and
it has a valve so when I step in, I
have a rubber ring on the outside of the liner,
and it pushes all the air out of the valve
and then steals my leg in.
Speaker 1 (18:09):
So it's it's literally like a suction correct. Yes, then
and then do you have a valve release the air?
So the suction released. I was wondering how they stayed on.
Speaker 2 (18:19):
Yeah, like do we pop it off and put it
on the table?
Speaker 1 (18:22):
Well no, maybe, yeah, actually it'd be I'd found it
really interesting. But my question is does I've watched people
walk around with these things. I'm like, how does that think?
How do you not if you got to put your
leg in, you got to pull it out?
Speaker 2 (18:36):
Right? Yeah, there's a bout how do you.
Speaker 1 (18:37):
Put your leg and when you move it doesn't come out?
Kind of like when you get your foot stuck in
the mud and you pull your foot out and your
shoes stays on the mud.
Speaker 2 (18:44):
Yeah, that's exactly what it's like.
Speaker 1 (18:45):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (18:46):
Yeah, so there's a valve release button to get the air.
Speaker 1 (18:49):
And then is that everybody's Yeah.
Speaker 2 (18:52):
I mean you either have the pinlock the inner seal section,
or they have some that where you have this like
additional sleeve on the outside that will kind of stick
to a line or for you. I had that to
begin with. Most amputees start with that. I didn't like
it because it really restricted my knee mobility and ended
up causing me more cramping and pain in my joint,
(19:12):
and I didn't like that. I had more limited movement
because of that. So the inner steel works the best
for me.
Speaker 1 (19:18):
So the socket, the thing that comes over yourg huh
all right, the bottom of it, I guess has like
a flange or something that you could put different attachments
onto the sock.
Speaker 2 (19:32):
Yes, so they'll be like some sort of component to
fill the gap of space to get your height so
your alignment of your hips is correct, and then whatever
foot you have will go underneath that. And a lot
of processsts don't like for you to change your feet
out yourself, so a lot of people have because it's
a liability. Some people are capable of it, Like I'm
more than capable of changing my own feet, but you
(19:53):
know someone who's, yeah, it's a thing. It's a thing
I hate. I have a heel height adjustable foots that
I can wear high heels where you press the button
and it changes the instep of the foot because otherwise
the whole alignment of the leg would be off. So
it's all the things you never thought about. But yeah,
it's a thing.
Speaker 1 (20:10):
That's crazy, all right, So you start this thing in
two thousand and eight, who's the first person you raised
some money for?
Speaker 2 (20:15):
So the first person I raised money for was a
local fireman. He was out of Lincoln. I want to say, Lincoln.
That's terrible fireman.
Speaker 1 (20:24):
He's looking at non loser's foot. But maybe his.
Speaker 2 (20:26):
Occupation, right, well, that's what was he was in danger of.
So he was a fireman and he had sarcoma, and honestly,
firemen are susceptible to that because of everything they're breathing in,
which is kind of unfortunate. But he had sarcoma, had
the amputation, and then he wasn't able to go in
and run into the fires anymore because he didn't have
(20:47):
a foot that would accommodate running. So we surprised him
with a running blade. It was really emotional and made
me realize that I was doing exactly what I was
meant to do.
Speaker 1 (20:59):
Was he able to to you to be a fireman?
Speaker 2 (21:01):
Yeah, was able to go back to being a fireman.
He was able to put a boot on it for
a while, but then he redirected. I want to say,
now he's police, or he's he's.
Speaker 1 (21:10):
In some funny hedn't be an active.
Speaker 2 (21:13):
No, And actually now I feel like he's even more
active now than he was at that time. And he
actually messaged me out too long ago about wanting to
come and run like our next race and be a
part of things, which is cool.
Speaker 1 (21:24):
But when you did it and you saw how happy
he was, you just said, I relized. One, I need
to do the rest of a lot.
Speaker 2 (21:34):
Yeah, I mean I found your purpose. Yeah, I think yeah.
And I am not one of these like everything happens
for a reason. I actually really hate that saying, because
I don't think that I had cancer for any reason.
I think I was very unfortunate in that way. But
I think that again, you can't control your circumstances, but
(21:55):
you can control your response. And I was able to
take a really sad, an unfortunate situation and turn it
into good. So I always say like I'm a pro
at pivoting, like I'm a professional pivoter, And I always
say that I'm just richer. Yeah right, I like your jokes. Yeah,
And I I'm good at making you know, lemonade out
(22:16):
of lemons. Unfortunately, I've been handled a lot of lemons
in life, and I don't know, like it's not the
end all be all, like bad things can happen, but
it happens. I mean, not everything happens to everyone, and
some people have an easier time and other people don't.
Like I can tell you from multiple aspects of life,
I haven't had an easy time, but I'm not going
to sit here and dwell in it. It's I get
to be here, I get to be alive. I get
to go out and do everything I did before and more.
(22:39):
I mean, I can tell you I walked. My goal
was to walk and assisted without crutches at eight weeks
on my birthday, and I did it two days before.
And then I wanted to run a five k race
before or before the end of that year that first year,
and I ran my first five k in a running
blade without stopping at six and a half month's postop.
And then at my one year anniversary, I ran my
(22:59):
first ever ten k and Charleston the Charleston Bridge Run,
and that was further than I ever ran on two feet.
So again, I think it's just mindsets. Everything you know.
You can choose to feel bad for yourself and your circumstances,
or you can say, like this sucks, but like, how
do we make the best of it? And I get
to be here? Like, I can't tell you how many
people I met their move for Jen who found out
(23:21):
their diagnosis even with a low grade situation later than
I did, and they're in really unfortunate situations, are no
longer here. And so like I know the reality of cancer.
I know that I'm so lucky that I get to
be here, and I'm lucky that I was able to
take my situation and share my story and help a
lot of people and be the person that they needed
when there's not a lot of people who can really
(23:43):
understand and be there in that way.
Speaker 1 (23:46):
So how did it morph? All of this energy, all
of this purpose, dedication, all of this I'm not letting
it beat me. All of that I helped one fireman.
I know this is what I want to do for
the rest of my life. Now, I know this is
my purpose. I know this is my thing, and let's
be have I mean, we talk about an army of
(24:07):
normal folks. You're a thirty year old woman with two
kids and a job. I mean, how much more normal
could you be? Yeah to now doing this? So how
does it more from that into what you're doing today,
how many people have you helped? What are you doing?
Tell us about what this foundation is now that is
(24:27):
obviously beyond your just personal story.
Speaker 2 (24:30):
That's what I love about it now, Like none of
it is about me, Like nothing about it is about me,
And that's why I love it now, the foundation now,
I mean, I just feel like everything kept organically growing
in it. And to your point about being this like normal,
you know, well now I'm forty one, but it's time
thirty something, you know, mom with two kids. Now I'm
forty one with two kids. I think like being a normal,
(24:53):
relatable person is really what has I don't know, like
just kept people supporting. Like I think I'm relatable. I
think people like listen and hear me and can make
correlations to their own lives, to my life or like
my efforts and what I'm doing, and people have gravitated
wanting to help make a difference. Like I think a
lot of times people, normal people want to do good
(25:15):
and they don't know how. And I think when they
see somebody who's normal, who's found a path, like it's
easy to jump on.
Speaker 1 (25:21):
We always talk about the real amazing things that happen,
is when somebody's passion and their abilities collawde.
Speaker 2 (25:29):
Yeah, that's this, Yeah, do it t Sea.
Speaker 1 (25:34):
So how many people tell me what you're doing?
Speaker 2 (25:37):
Yeah?
Speaker 1 (25:38):
Tell me what this thing is. Tell me what's not today?
Speaker 2 (25:41):
Okay. So we do a big five k race every year.
We just had our sixth one in February. Usually we
do it Q three Q four, but this year we
did Q one and I will never do Q one again,
So twenty twenty six is going back to Q three.
We do a big race every year. We usually have
about a thousand people out. It's a huge event for
everybody for ever. Just no, no, no, yes, I do
(26:01):
let amputees run my race free because I try to
encourage people to get out and move because you can
and not feel again the financial burden. Some people might
think like, oh, I don't want to spend thirty dollars
and run a race and what if I don't get
to do it. And I kind of want to like
eliminate all that. So like, if you're an amputee, reach
out to me, come run my race for free. We
do a kid's fun run, which is a mile long.
We do a five k race and then we do
(26:23):
this whole post race festival with like a DJ and
food and vendors and health things and all these inflatables
for kids. And we have our own beer called Hops
on one Leg. It's an ipa. So yeah, I love it, yeah,
so yeah. And honestly, like we just I just have
so many amazing partnerships.
Speaker 1 (26:42):
With the care. It's all the move for Gin Foundation.
Speaker 2 (26:45):
Stuff, right, But I love it because like we're supported
by like mom and pop small businesses and Charlotte, but
we're also supported by like Lulu Lemon and United Healthcare
and Lincoln Financial and like some of these like major corporations,
like some of the big banks. And it's great because
but then we're also supported by like small restaurants and
small you know business, and I love supporting small business.
(27:07):
So I love finding ways that we can collaborate and like,
and I always say I never want to be a
foundation or a person that collects a check, like I
always want to use our platform, like how can we
elevate the people who are supporting us and highlight them
and show their efforts. And I think that's gone a
long way.
Speaker 1 (27:21):
And so you're raising tens of thousands of dollars, hundreds
I guess.
Speaker 2 (27:27):
Yeah, we've raised over a million dollars to date. We've
given sixty three different prosthetics.
Speaker 1 (27:32):
Sixty three different people. Yeah that specifically lost our und
two sarcoma.
Speaker 2 (27:38):
So yes, but we have had or related We had
one woman who lost her limb, she had melanoma in
her foot and so she fell into our category. And
we have had one other case where we had a
one off situation that our board allowed.
Speaker 1 (27:55):
And how much money does one of these sixty three
people usually take to get all situated?
Speaker 2 (28:02):
So it really depends because you know, for someone who's
a below the below the knee amputee obviously like a
socket and a foot, situation is much different than someone
who's an above the knee or at the hip, and
they're going to need more components. Also, I know we
talked a little bit about like a microprocessing ankle, where
like it has a you know, microprocessor that adds to
(28:22):
the movement and the terrain and your cadence and all
the things. That's much more expensive. It's also much heavier
in general.
Speaker 1 (28:29):
Yes, it could be five to fifty thousand dollars depending
on the person.
Speaker 2 (28:33):
Yeah, I mean sometimes I can do it for a
little bit less. I have set pricing that I have
negotiated with all the different manufacturers, so that way it
kind of cuts out a middleman. So before, initially I
would have to order through like a processus because all
the manufacturers will only sell to a medical office. But
now that we've established relationships with everybody, I have my
own house accounts, so I can go direct to the manufacturer.
(28:54):
I know my set costs and it helps me stretch
my dollars further.
Speaker 1 (28:57):
That's so cool.
Speaker 2 (28:58):
Yeah, it is cool.
Speaker 1 (29:02):
We'll be right back. Tell me about land Oh he such.
Speaker 2 (29:17):
A sweet kid. Okay. So land In is a seven
year old boy who had osteosarcoma who I just surprised
with Scramo bone cancer. Yeah seven seven, Yeah.
Speaker 1 (29:30):
So oh did they have to amputatee?
Speaker 2 (29:32):
They did, and he had.
Speaker 1 (29:33):
I know, but did they have to amputatee below above
the knee?
Speaker 2 (29:37):
So he had a procedure that is becoming more common
with kids now. It's called rotation plasty. So essentially they
take out the portion of leg that is cancerous. He
didn't have it in his foot, he had it in
his leg. And so what they do is they remove
the portion of your leg that has the cancer. And
then they take your foot, rotate it one hundred and
(29:58):
eighty degrees, and your heel becomes your I know this
is wild, Yes, it's wild.
Speaker 1 (30:04):
Slow down. They take the piece of cancer, the bone
that's cancer.
Speaker 2 (30:10):
They removed the portion of your leg that.
Speaker 1 (30:11):
Has cancer, and then they take your foot and it
around yep, and then they use your feel.
Speaker 2 (30:19):
To become your knee, so you have an active joint.
It's wild.
Speaker 1 (30:25):
Yeah, they can do that.
Speaker 2 (30:26):
They can do that, and what there they found is
that it gives kids a lot more mobility than being
in above the knee amputee.
Speaker 1 (30:33):
Wow. Okay, so they did that to this pork.
Speaker 2 (30:37):
Yep, So he had that. So a girl that I
was acquaintances with through mutual friends from college, she had
shared his GoFundMe on Facebook and I randomly caught it.
I don't know how it showed up in my feed,
but I guess the algorithm caught sarcoma. And I clicked
it and I read his story when I saw that
he had cancer, and I saw he was an amputee,
so automatically I knew, nine times out of ten, ampute
(30:59):
is sarcoma. So I reached out to her and I
was like, can you connect me with this family because
I want help? And so she was like yes, Like
I actually thought about that, and I don't know why
I didn't make the connection. So she connected his mom
Jen and I her name is Jen also, and we
started talking and I started mentoring her through the process
because I feel like when like you first become an amputee,
(31:19):
like you don't know what to ask for at the
prosthetic office, you don't know what kind of feet to
look for, what you want a demo or what? You
know nothing? And I knew nothing like I wouldn't blind. Yeah,
you're scared, absolutely, and you don't want to make the
wrong choice.
Speaker 1 (31:31):
You're even really scared once you're a seven year old kid.
Speaker 2 (31:33):
Yes, absolutely, that's worse than it happening to you one
hundred percent. So I reached out to her and I
was like, Hey, you don't know me. I'm a friend
of SO and so this is my organization. I read
Landon's story, like I want to help you anyway I can.
I know you're probably gearing up for prosthetics, Like can
we connect, like I'll talk you through everything, and she
was like please. So we got on the phone and
(31:54):
we started talking and I started you know, she would
ask me what to ask. I would tell her what
to ask for, tell her what to you know, what
feet he should try, like what paths she should go,
what's important, what to advocate for, because like you just
don't know. And she started crying and she's like, I
feel like God sent me you to me because I
didn't know what I was doing. And I finally feel
(32:14):
like I have direction. And I was like it's okay,
Like it's gonna be okay. And the more we started talking,
I was like, we have to help him, like further
than this. So I said to her, like, would you
be willing to come to Charlotte soon? And she was
like sure, Like what's going on? I was like, well,
we have our golf tournament and normally we keep it
a surprise, but because he's your son, like I want
to make sure you'd be comfortable. But like I would
(32:35):
love to give him a running blade. We would love
to give him a running blade at our event because
we always give surprise grants, so at every event that
we have, like I always love to show people where
their money goes, Like you can read stories all day
and that's great, But when you get to be part
of a moment where you're giving mobility back to someone,
it's something that is really like it's relatable to everyone,
Like you walked into my event, like you you walked around,
(32:56):
you got yourself a coffee, Like you're getting in a
golf cart, like you're moving the whole day. Like you
can put that correlation together and think like, wow, if
this kid doesn't have this, like he doesn't get to
do that. And so they came to Charlotte and we
surprised him with a running blade. But the coolest part
about our golf tournament this year, and actually a lot
of people said this, We'll sometimes have amputees come to
(33:18):
different things, and obviously we give surprise grants at all
of our events, but there were so many amputees this
year who came to play golf and it was so
cool because it was like every couple holes you went to,
there was somebody with a prosthetic and it just created
this sense of community that I feel like I've been
striving for but like didn't even realize that we created
when we created it, and it was just a really
(33:38):
cool moment. But the best part so when Landon got
to the golf trnament, he was really shy, and we
gifted him the running blade in front of everyone, and
we also gifted a woman a microprocessing foot for hiking.
And afterwards I said to land and I was like,
can I take you for a ride on the golf cart?
And he was like, yeah, that'd be great. So I
took him and his family around on the golf cart
and we stopped and every golf or fist bumped him
(34:00):
and high fived him and talked to him. But he
got to meet so many amputees on the course.
Speaker 1 (34:04):
That's so he got to feel not weird and got
to feel normal.
Speaker 2 (34:08):
Correct. It normalized so much.
Speaker 1 (34:10):
He made everything okay for him right.
Speaker 2 (34:12):
And so he had just started walking two weeks before that,
so he was still with crutches and learning and balancing
and learning how to wait there. And he went from
being this shy, reclusive kid when he first got there
to like, do you play roadblocks? Your kids play roadblocks?
Like can you come and hang out with me in
Curnersville where I live, and can we run together? And
I want to come to Charlotte and hang out with you.
And he was just a sweet I mean, he opened
(34:34):
up completely, and when he left, his mom messaged me
and said that he told her on the way home
that he was going to work really hard to not
need crutches so he could be like everybody else at
the tournament. And that to me was like, what move
for gens all about. It's a payoff, normalize it, give
people back what they're meant to do.
Speaker 1 (34:51):
And we need to remember many adults might have any depressants,
in any anxiety medicine to get through.
Speaker 2 (34:59):
That doesn't happen for us, No, it does not.
Speaker 1 (35:02):
So he's processing absolutely.
Speaker 2 (35:05):
Absolutely, Yeah, maam, let's talk.
Speaker 1 (35:09):
Yeah, but how's he doing.
Speaker 2 (35:12):
He's doing really good. Yeah, he's doing great. He's not
running yet because still early, but he's getting there. He's
want to walk one hundred percent. He will without question.
There's a girl that we funded who lives in Carrie,
North Carolina, and I helped her mom through the process.
She was in a flier. Her name is Addison. If
I would have met her mom in college in a bar,
we would have been best friend. So we hit it
(35:33):
off like right away. But she was in the wrong
kind of prosthetic. She was in something that didn't fit well.
And I caught her video on Instagram that was shared
by like a prosthetic office or something, and I reached
out and I was like, I want to I want
to help you, Like, let's why does she not have
a running blade? And she's like, well, we don't really
know about any of this stuff. And I was like, well,
let's change that. And so, come to find out, she
(35:55):
was in the wrong kind of socket, the wrong kind
of foot. And I'm not a prosthetist, but like, I
know enough to dangerous at this point, and so I
made recommendations. We found a new procetist for her to
work with who works with active kids, not geriatric adults,
and everything changed for her. And now we've given her
two different walking feet, one or two running blades I
can't remember. And she literally does everything like she swims,
(36:17):
she does gymnastics, she does horseback riding. She plays soccer
like she literally does play soccer.
Speaker 1 (36:23):
Oh yeah, every how can you play soccer with this
thing on?
Speaker 2 (36:26):
With a running blade? You just you run? I mean
she has a running blade that has a special heel
on it that one of the manufacturers make. It's actually
like a really great one for kids, and she's able
to run and keep up with the rest of the team,
and same thing. Like her mom initially was like I
hate that she's not keeping up with the kids in
the neighborhood, like they're playing tag and she can't keep up.
But now she can. And her mom will literally send
(36:47):
me videos of her doing like every activity possible. I mean,
she was like at a rock climbing park. She's swimming,
she's jumping, she's paddleboarding at the ocean, like she literally
does everything, and like that to me is the biggest payoff.
Speaker 1 (36:59):
So I'm a person named Connie said, I just want
to thank you again, not just forgiving me the grant,
which has changed my life so much in a few
weeks that I've had the blade, but even more support,
you know, the toll that being an amput can have
on you physically and mentally. It's been a challenge finding
my place again after my imputation. Sometimes I feel misunderstood
(37:23):
or people try to cater to me just because I'm
an ampt and pity me, or more so that I
don't fit into that normal body box anymore. I haven't
had the opportunity to find many people like me or
people that see me for who I am beyond an
amputee or people that accept me for who I am
and treat me like a normal person. What you've given
(37:46):
me is so much more than a grant. You've given
me a place where I'm fully supported and truly seen
as an able bodied person. You've helped me in more
ways you have when you hear them, what do you think.
Speaker 2 (38:01):
I did my job?
Speaker 1 (38:05):
I would think if any human being could do something
that would have another human being say that about their
efforts that you know, you've reached a place that you
feel pretty good about life and what you're doing. So
what's next?
Speaker 2 (38:21):
What's next with the foundation? Yeah, there's a lot of things.
I mean, obviously I hope we continue to grow. We're
looking at different ways to expand our network, expand our outreach,
different ways to I mean, it's a nonprofit, but it's
still a business, so you have to look at it
that way. I think initially I looked at it more
emotionally than professionally, and now it's definitely like a mixture.
Obviously it's personal for me, but at the end of
(38:44):
the day, it's a business. And so the summer we're
actually hosting our first intern programs so I have twelve
interns this summer that I'm leading through a whole summer
program and so that's been fun. That's cool, And we
have some new events coming for the fall and just
really looking to expand our outreach, expand our funding, expand
our give and obviously I love speaking. I do a
(39:04):
lot of initiatives when I can, and so any way
to I guess like share the mission and help more people,
like that's always the.
Speaker 1 (39:12):
Goal, which we How do people find you?
Speaker 2 (39:14):
So you can go to move forgen dot org with
two ends Jen with two ends f O R J
E n N dot org. Obviously also on LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram.
I feel like we're most active on Instagram. It's at
move for gen is the handle. But yeah, you can
go on our website and we share all the stories
of everything. We have blogs on people we help in
(39:36):
different events that we have obviously different fundraising initiatives. July
is our come awareness months, so we have a lot
going on this month to bring awareness and raise funding
and help more people. So that's kind of what we're
all about.
Speaker 1 (39:49):
That's really cool.
Speaker 4 (39:50):
Jen said she's game to share her email too.
Speaker 2 (39:54):
Yeah, I can share my email. It's Jen j Nn
at movefogen dot org.
Speaker 1 (39:58):
Yeah, for anybody that wants to help, anybody has a
friend that maybe needs help, anybody that wants to donate,
or if you're an amputee and you're feeling a little
lost and you don't have anybody around you as perspective,
imagine people in your organization.
Speaker 2 (40:15):
Have just that for sure. And honestly, my foundation is
sarcoma based, and obviously for funding we are sarcoma specific.
But when it comes to mentorship, I help everyone. Like
I'm helping a woman right now out of Georgia who
was in a really bad car accident and lost her limb,
and she's like one of the most incredible women I've
ever encountered, Like I just think so highly of her.
(40:35):
We haven't even met in person yet, but she is
literally me through this journey. And it doesn't have to
be like the mentor side. It doesn't have to be
sarcoma focused. It can be, you know, just anything. I'm
always happy to be a resource and a person.
Speaker 1 (40:48):
I got to have price pedicuresto.
Speaker 2 (40:50):
I love that you ask that. So there is one thing,
there's one a salon near me that I actually love
the most and they do charge me half price is
really really nice.
Speaker 1 (41:01):
Yeah, so maybe you can't laugh.
Speaker 2 (41:05):
I literally tell people that all the time. They're like,
you make the worst jokes. I'm like, if you don't laugh,
you cry. So it is what it is.
Speaker 1 (41:10):
I mean, look, man, I grew up fat and red headed.
You got to joke at stuff. What are you going
to do? Right?
Speaker 2 (41:16):
That's funny, you know what.
Speaker 4 (41:18):
I want one random idea story to put you on
this podcast. But you thought about like races and other communities,
like say here in Memphis. If people do race here,
I think that could be an interesting way.
Speaker 1 (41:29):
For especially given Saint Jude's around.
Speaker 4 (41:33):
Community, especially to have other runners using prosthetics for them
to meet them in person there and make a grant
there and you can always.
Speaker 1 (41:40):
There's a huge running community. There's a huge running community here.
But I guarantee there have been kids a Saint Jude
that have that are amputas.
Speaker 2 (41:48):
Oh. I've actually funded one because from Memphis. She's not
from Memphis, she lives in Arizona, but she was a
Saint Jude kid and Saint Jude will pay for a
certain number of prosthetics, certain number of resources. But she
needed she wanted, like a leg that looked like a leg.
Does that make sense to like? She didn't want a
(42:09):
leg that looked like a prosthetic. She wanted like a
skin tone one that when she wore leggings, like she's
going into high school, Like it would fill out the spot.
Speaker 1 (42:16):
Completely understandable. Somebody would want, but.
Speaker 2 (42:19):
Saint Jude wouldn't fund that, and I did, so, Yeah,
there's always a gap.
Speaker 1 (42:24):
Yeah, So if anybody's listening, you know, would you be
willing to talk to somebody about doing races in other
cities and growing?
Speaker 2 (42:33):
I I'm always open to growing. I'm always open to brainswimming.
I will say the race is definitely a labor of love.
It's a lot of work at this point. The one
in Charlotte's a well oiled machine, but it would take
a lot. I would need to make sure that the
presence was there.
Speaker 1 (42:46):
Well, let me speak for you, Okay, in one way, yes,
she'd do it, but bring sponsors.
Speaker 2 (42:52):
But bring sponsors.
Speaker 1 (42:53):
If you bring sponsors, you could pull anything off. But
from somebody who's done some of that kind of work before,
bring sponsors.
Speaker 2 (43:00):
Yeah, if so, I'm in Yeah, Jim.
Speaker 1 (43:04):
Safe travels home. Thanks for telling your story. Thanks for
coming to Memphis, but more importantly, thanks for the amazing
work that you're doing for folks in a community that
many people don't even understand, for sarcoma for one, amputees
for another. And I appreciate the education. I've always wondered
(43:25):
about some of the things I asked you, and it's
neat to speak with somebody who's so open and transparent
about that. You don't feel guilty or like you're imposing
when you ask somebody questions about the stuff. So I've
learned a lot.
Speaker 4 (43:38):
And one more thing. Yeah, you asked about foundation goals.
Tell them about your personal goal. What race you're doing
coming up?
Speaker 3 (43:45):
Oh?
Speaker 1 (43:45):
Yeah, you're not running a marathon. I was wondering about that.
I should have asked earlier.
Speaker 2 (43:51):
Yeah. So I signed up for the Chicago Half on
September twenty eighth. I'm trying to train for it. I'm
having some trouble with my prosthetics, but I am scheduled
to run a half marathon, my first half marathon September.
Speaker 1 (44:03):
How far is I half marathon?
Speaker 2 (44:04):
Thirteen?
Speaker 1 (44:05):
Wow?
Speaker 2 (44:07):
Does it hurt when things don't fit properly? Yes? And
I'm dealing with that right now. So when things fit,
it's okay. So I gotta have some adjustments made in
the next a little bit.
Speaker 1 (44:18):
I have the sneaky suspicion you're going to power through
and figure it out.
Speaker 2 (44:21):
I sure am, And you're going to do it in Chicago.
I'm in Chicago.
Speaker 1 (44:24):
I don't wear a shirt that says, you know, do
you wear your your Move for Gin stuff when you run.
Speaker 2 (44:29):
I will wear something Move for Gen. I mean, yeah, exactly,
So I'll probably wear something Lula Lemon and then have
it branded with Move for Gen. So yeah, Lula Lemon
has been very good to me in so many ways
and so good to Move for Gen, and I'm super
thankful for that partnership.
Speaker 1 (44:45):
Well, good luck and we'll be cheering you on from Emphis.
Speaker 2 (44:48):
Thank you, I appreciate it.
Speaker 1 (44:49):
Travels home. Thanks for your story. It's our coma sacks.
Speaker 2 (44:52):
What coma sax.
Speaker 1 (44:55):
Officially sacked?
Speaker 4 (44:56):
John Norman always posts that on his Instagram Arcomas circummaces.
Speaker 1 (45:01):
Yeah, yeah, all right, thanks here, thank you and thank
you for joining us this week. If Jen Andrews has
inspired you in general or better yet, to take action
by donating to Move for Jin, sharing Jen's story on
social media, not being a victim or something else entirely.
(45:22):
Please let me know I'd love to hear about it.
You can write me anytime at Bill at normal folks
dot us, and I promise you I will respond. If
you enjoyed this episode, share it with friends and on
social subscribe to the podcast, rate and review it. Join
the army at normal folks dot us. Consider becoming a
(45:44):
premium member. There all of these things that will help
us grow an army of normal folks. I'm Bill Courtney.
Until next time, do what you can live
Hey, everybody, it's Bill Courtney with an army and normal folks.
And we continue now with part two of our conversation
with Jen Andrews. Right after these brief messages from our
general sponsors, how long between the day they take your
(00:28):
foot and you actually get How long does that when
people have an amputation? What is that gap of time?
Speaker 2 (00:36):
Okay, So I'm going to preface this in case there
are any amputees listening, because I mentor a lot of amputees,
and I always share this information with a grain of
salt because I did not come out of a trauma situation.
I wasn't in an accident, I didn't have chemotherapy, I
didn't have all this additional healing to do. So I
went from like a surgery healing really well. Actually in
(00:56):
the hospital, they said I could be there anyway, anytime,
from like two days to two weeks or more. And
I was out of there on day two. And I
actually I have a really good story about that too.
So the nurse came in with all my things and
there was a walker and I was ready to go,
and she wheels in a wheelchair and I declined it
and I was like, no, thank you, and she said, well,
you have to go all the way down the hall
(01:18):
in the elevator, down through the lobby to the parking lot.
And I looked at her and I said, I walked
myself into this hospital. I'm going to walk myself out.
Speaker 1 (01:25):
Would you use the thing to hop?
Speaker 2 (01:26):
Yeah? I use like an old man, and you hop
and I like step hop, step pop. And I walked
myself out of the entire hospital and I got in
the car and she just kind of sat there and
looked at me like I was insane. But for me,
I needed to do that, Like sitting in that chair, Well.
Speaker 1 (01:42):
That's boss work for me.
Speaker 2 (01:43):
I just knew where my headspace was. I knew where
my goals were. So to answer your question about the prosthetics,
I got my first prosthetic at four and a half
week's post out, which is pretty early, but again I
was only healing from surgery. I didn't have the trauma
of everything else.
Speaker 1 (01:58):
Could deal with. Thob weeks to fop months, depending on
how long it takes to heal up and get that
thing on.
Speaker 2 (02:05):
Probably not five months, but I feel like four to
twelve weeks maybe, depending on sure.
Speaker 1 (02:11):
What do you do use crutches? Or a wheelchair. In
the maintime, I did not.
Speaker 2 (02:15):
Use a wheelchair ever. I used crutches, and then I
used a walker.
Speaker 1 (02:18):
But people just in general amputees and oh.
Speaker 2 (02:21):
Yes, amputees in general wheelchair. I also used the eyewalk,
which is like a handless crutch, where like for a
below the knee amputee you could use it, like for
someone who's had foot surgery, they would use it. But
essentially your knee is balanced on a platform with a
crutch under it. I'm seeing that, yeah, and so I
use that to get around a little bit sometimes. Initially, yes,
(02:43):
I fell with crutches. I was with my mom and
a shopping center. Thank god, they had this thing called
the Ampu shield. It was like a hard shell plastic
that they would put over your residual lem and thank
god I had that on that day. But I missed
the curb and I went down like a sack of potatoes.
And they were doing all this construction in this new
shopping center, and all the country ruction workers like swarm
me and try to pick me up, and they're like, okay.
I was so embarrassed. But thankfully I had that shield
(03:05):
on my leg, so I didn't do any damage. But
had I not had that, it would have been really bad.
Speaker 1 (03:10):
Wow. All right, so up to this point, Yeah, it's
a story of a girl who had a really bad
stroke a lot with a pe sized nodule, had to
get your foot amputated, and you and your friends did
this move for Jim Facebook thing. It was really supportive,
(03:35):
probably woke people up to having to not taking for
granted the things we do have. Great, but that's not
a foundation. No, How does Jim the mom with her
foot chopped off and doing a Facebook thing and having
(03:55):
some people with T shirts morph into a foundation?
Speaker 2 (04:00):
And why so in my initial prosthetic appointments when I
was getting fitted for a walking foot. So with prosthetics,
they don't make one that does everything. So you need
one to walk, you need one to run like a
running blade. You need a waterproof foot if you want
to swim. They make snowboarding and skiing prosthetics.
Speaker 1 (04:17):
Really yeah, how much are these sense costs?
Speaker 2 (04:19):
They are anywhere between like with the socket and everything,
like between five and fifty thousand dollars depending on how
customer might.
Speaker 1 (04:24):
See thousand dollars.
Speaker 2 (04:26):
For what for the customized socket and the specialized foot.
It depends how specialized and how customized. I would say
the average for like just the average is probably fifteen
to twenty thousand. That's a lot, it's a lot of money.
But what's crazy is the lifetime of these prosthetics is
three to five years. So after three to five years,
you have to replace what is a socket.
Speaker 1 (04:47):
I assume the socket is like the cavity of the
prosthetic that your limb.
Speaker 2 (04:53):
Fits into correct and it's custom made to you.
Speaker 1 (04:56):
Yeah, it would be like molded. I would kind of
like and they do a mold of your teeth.
Speaker 2 (05:01):
Yes, but now they're starting to three D scan, but yes,
they before it was like.
Speaker 1 (05:05):
A foam mold or something.
Speaker 2 (05:07):
They would actually cast you and then pour a mold
of the cast.
Speaker 1 (05:11):
So you're sticking your limb into something that they cast you,
and that cast becomes the socket for your limb to
fit into this prosthetic.
Speaker 2 (05:23):
So if you think about, like if you were to
break your arm like that cast, they would take that
and do a cast around your residual limb, let it dry,
take it off. They would pour like a silicone substance
inside to get the shape of your leg, and then
they will make the socket part usually out of like
a carbon fiber that your leg will go in. Does
(05:43):
that make sense? Yeah, okay, but.
Speaker 1 (05:46):
If you want to swim, you gotta have a waterproof one.
Speaker 2 (05:49):
Yep.
Speaker 1 (05:49):
Walking around yep. I guess you want a comfy one.
I don't know.
Speaker 2 (05:54):
Well, everybody likes different things. Actually, it's funny. I was
sitting on it on the plane today next to an mputee,
which like never happens. So we had like a really
good conversation on the plane. But they have feet that
have like microprocessors where it'll have like fluid ankle movement
and it'll kind of keep up with your cadence. They
have ones like I have that have way more like
spring and give back for more energy return, and that's
(06:16):
what I like because I like lighter and more active.
So it just depends on kind of what your goals are.
Speaker 1 (06:22):
But unfinishly crazy.
Speaker 2 (06:24):
It is crazy. Yeah, So in those appointments, I said, okay,
like great, like I wanted I.
Speaker 1 (06:29):
Got another question. Oh yeah, god, I'm so sorry. I'm
thinking through this. Yeah, so if you're going on a
trip to.
Speaker 2 (06:36):
The beach, yeah, I have multiple feet.
Speaker 1 (06:38):
That's my question. Yeah, well, then your luggage fees must
be insane because you get a and I guess you
don't want to put them in your luggage, so do
you carry your foot on?
Speaker 2 (06:48):
So actually it's funny. I have put them in my
luggage before because I never really had a bag that
properly fit my prosthetics. But I'm actually an ambassador for
lou Lemon now and they have a special prosthetic bag
for their Paralympic athletes that's not available for purchase, and
they surprised it with me recently, and so I was
able to carry my prosthetics on.
Speaker 1 (07:09):
And with these things cost him that kind of money,
I wouldn't check them.
Speaker 2 (07:12):
It's horrible, but a lot of times they don't give
you the choice.
Speaker 1 (07:14):
But that's the life of an ampte.
Speaker 2 (07:16):
Right, I know.
Speaker 1 (07:18):
Wow? Okay, So I told you I chase stuff up
trees like schools because this is yeah right, by the way,
I was the keynote for the Paralympics, Were you really? Yeah?
And there's a girl there named Katie Holloway who you
should meet.
Speaker 2 (07:34):
Okay.
Speaker 1 (07:35):
She had her about the same place you did. Had
her first amputated when she was like six or seven, okay,
and she was athletic as she could be, and schools
kept cutting her. She got a prosthetic to let her
play basketball, not special Paralympic basketball, straight up against everybody else, BASKETBA,
(08:01):
and schools kept cutting her because they're like, well, one
leg a girl can't play basketball, and her mom kept saying,
yes you can, Yes, you can. Anyway, she ended up
going to high school and she wore a knee brice
over her prosthetic. Clearly, you don't need a knee brace
(08:21):
when you don't have a leg below there, but she
did it because she didn't want people to think to
not play that. She wanted people to play straight up
against her.
Speaker 2 (08:33):
Absolutely, yeah right.
Speaker 1 (08:35):
She ended up playing college basketball. She at cal State Northridge,
ended up being the sixth man of the year for
the entire conference with one leg, and then she joined
the Paralympics and is a gold medals volleyball player.
Speaker 2 (08:52):
Amazing, three time gold medals. That's crazy. Yeah.
Speaker 1 (08:54):
Her name's Katie Holloway.
Speaker 2 (08:57):
She's Okay, I her amazing.
Speaker 1 (09:00):
So anyway I met her. When you said Paralympics, I
met her. I'm sorry. So that's the one empty tee
friend I have. Okay, it's Katie. How it was? Yeah,
and I think the world of this woman. So you
get your foot yep, all right, but we don't have
a foundation.
Speaker 2 (09:17):
No, so I get a watching foot.
Speaker 1 (09:19):
I said it was when you were getting your prosthetic
as when something.
Speaker 2 (09:23):
Yes, So I was at the prosthetic office getting my
walking foot and I said, okay, let's talk running blades
because I want to get back to everything I did before.
And they looked at me like I was crazy and said, okay, well,
running blades are extra and I said, okay, well what
does extra mean? And they said it's going to cost
you anywhere between five and fifty thousand dollars and they
have to be replaced every three to five years. And
I said, so you mean to tell me that I
(09:44):
was super active before. I want to maintain my healthy
lifestyle and insurance is not going to pay for me
to do that, but they're going to pay for my
health to decline and support that. And they said pretty much.
And I walked out of that appointment, and I was
so angry thinking about all the people who weren't being
active because of the financial burden. And I always say,
the only thing worse than what I went through would
(10:05):
be if it was my child, and I was already
in a situation where as a mom, I couldn't get
out and run and play with my kids at the
capacity that I wanted to. But for the parents who
just went through cancer with their kids, and I mean,
let's be honest, cancer Thankfully I wasn't in this position,
but cancer can do, you know, detrimental things to your
financials and really put you in some hardship situations. And
(10:27):
I just kept thinking about all the families who like
for a parent to tell their kid that they can't
run because they can't afford it. Like I literally my
blood was fricking boiling. And so I walked out of
that appointment. I was like, I like, this is wrong,
this is not okay. I want to do something about it.
And so we launched movie. And I had a background
an insurance.
Speaker 1 (10:46):
Which is ironic, right, But did you start hating your industry.
Speaker 2 (10:51):
Hating my industry? No, but like not unders, Yeah, like
where are these gaps coming from? And like why is
this like this? And I wasn't in health insurance. I
was in ancilary line. I get it, but still, yeah,
definitely learn the importance of short term disability and long
term disability so yeah, but at the same time, yeah,
I mean, it's a screwed up it's a screwed up system,
(11:12):
and especially in our country, like it's just it's there's
so much wrong, like so much wrong. And so yeah,
so I launched Move for well, we launched Move for
Gen two and a half months after I lost my
leg and almost that really in itself was such a
blessing in disguise because it redirected my focus from myself
to other people, Like it took my story and it
(11:36):
wasn't it wasn't going to be about me anymore.
Speaker 1 (11:39):
So what was the goal? Figure out how to raise
money for prosthetics for people who can't afford them.
Speaker 2 (11:45):
Yeah, so that's the goal.
Speaker 1 (11:46):
That's the whole Move for Gen idea.
Speaker 2 (11:48):
The idea behind Move for Gen was to raise funds
for sarcoma amputees, so specifically specifically sarcoma, sarcoma cancer and
affiliated disease, and so we wanted to fund active prosthetics
to those who lost limb to cancer and then also
sarcoma research because there's not a cure and there's not
enough research, and cancer in itself is majorly underfunded, especially
(12:10):
now with everything going on, and it was already bad before,
but for sarcoma, the research for that, out of the
small percentage that is cancer research, is like a fraction
of that. So I wanted to help support that and
figure out a way to make a different And so
that's what we did. This was May of twenty eighteen.
Speaker 1 (12:36):
We'll be right back. So you start a foundation, good
for you?
Speaker 2 (12:49):
Yeah, what happens? So right, So we started a foundation
for you.
Speaker 1 (12:54):
If you start a foundation, but I'm going to do
something really good. Yeah, but who are you? You're this
normal kid, yeah, young girl with kids. Yeah, I mean.
Speaker 2 (13:05):
I'm a normal young mom. That was relatable to everyone.
So coma wasn't relatable, Losing a limb wasn't relatable, But
watching me like take back my life was relatable. Maybe
not the context, but the process. Does that even make sense?
Speaker 1 (13:23):
It does a lot.
Speaker 2 (13:24):
And so, as I was saying earlier, like my support
for me was just next level unreal from the community,
from the world, from my friends and family, like it
was just so beyond And I know that That's what
I was going to say, Like, I know that my
situation was not the norm, and I am so beyond
grateful that I was supported the way I was. But
(13:46):
the cool part about my story is that all of
that support organically rolled over to move for gen Foundation,
and that's how we started a nonprofit and and we
started small like we were grassroots. We started with small
fundraisers with local businesses who supported me and helped me
with prosthetics and then wanted to support helping other people
(14:07):
with prosthetics.
Speaker 1 (14:08):
And how did you find somebody to help the first time?
Speaker 2 (14:13):
I mean, I was already intertwined in the community anyway,
but I feel like people gravitated towards my story and
wanted to help make a difference for me, as like
a local bomb. And then they were like, well, we
like what she's doing and she's changing, she wants to
make an impact, Like I want to be part of that.
And I think sharing my story so openly and organically
(14:33):
and really vulnerably made me relatable to my community and
they wanted to get behind that.
Speaker 3 (14:40):
Okay, so on on when was it twy eighteen, twenty eighteen? Yeah,
something else happened became cancer free.
Speaker 2 (14:51):
Right, yeah? So, And it's crazy that you say that,
because in a conversation I had later, like I always
looked at March twelfth as the day that I lost
my leg, but I had other people in my life
who looked at it as the day that I became
cancer free. And that took me a minute to like
really wrap my head around. And so I wish it's
(15:11):
not the end, it's the beginning, right exactly, because perspective
is everything, and so it took me a little to
like change my perspective of that day. But then my
story became a platform to help other people. And like
I told my doctor before I had my surgery, and
this was before I even had any plan for a
nonprofit or any plan for anything, I said, I don't
know what my life is going to look like, but
(15:33):
I know I'm going to be okay. And I had
tears streaming down my face, and I said, when I'm okay,
I want to help your patients. And I don't know
in what capacity, and I don't know what that's going
to look like, but I want to be the person
that I needed. And so that's kind of what I
chose to do, is to show up for others in
the capacity that I wish that I would have had.
Speaker 1 (15:52):
So what I've read is the only stipulation so you
have to be a resident of the United States. That's
for right now, you go worldwide, which I wouldn't be
surprised if you did, although that may change all right,
and you have to have lost your leg or part
of your leg or however it works for sarcoma cancer
an affiliated disease. One hundred twenty five dollars pace for
(16:14):
a month of exercise classes for an AMPT two twenty
five for a prosthetic liner, which I want to know
about that, okay, six hundred pace for three months physical
therapy for an AMPT, eighteen hundred pace for running blade,
twenty eight hundred pace for driving school. Who would have
even thought, But obviously I guess you do have to
(16:35):
relearn how to do all that.
Speaker 2 (16:36):
Oh. I had to go to Driver's ed as an
adult with in car lessons with to learn how to
use a left pedal with my left foot because I
didn't want handknchils and I'm only five four so crossing
my foot over just I was like on the airbag.
So yeah, I had to be in car with a
random man for eight hours like that was not fun,
but I learned and figured it out.
Speaker 1 (16:56):
Seventy five hundred for a custom made socket for an AMPTP,
which I assume customate socket is.
Speaker 2 (17:01):
The top part, correct, Yeah.
Speaker 1 (17:03):
And then the foot blade whatever attaches to the socket, correct,
which I didn't know yep. And then ten thousand covers
the entire cost of socket. So I have seen amputees
running before, and there's this mesh thing that looks like
a sock that seems to be on their leg. Yes,
(17:24):
in between I guess their skin and the inside of
the socket. Yes, is that right?
Speaker 2 (17:31):
Yes?
Speaker 1 (17:31):
So does that get uncomfortable? Is that rub you wrong?
Speaker 2 (17:34):
Yes? So that's the liner, and the liner will determine
how your leg is suspended to you. So they have
what's called a pin lock socket, where the liner that
goes on your leg will have a pin at the
bottom that locks into the socket. I personally don't like
that because it puts all of your weight on the
bottom of your residual limbs, so like I would feel
(17:54):
it on my bone too much, and I didn't like that.
I have one that has an inner seal so and
it has a valve so when I step in, I
have a rubber ring on the outside of the liner,
and it pushes all the air out of the valve
and then steals my leg in.
Speaker 1 (18:09):
So it's it's literally like a suction correct. Yes, then
and then do you have a valve release the air?
So the suction released. I was wondering how they stayed on.
Speaker 2 (18:19):
Yeah, like do we pop it off and put it
on the table?
Speaker 1 (18:22):
Well no, maybe, yeah, actually it'd be I'd found it
really interesting. But my question is does I've watched people
walk around with these things. I'm like, how does that think?
How do you not if you got to put your
leg in, you got to pull it out?
Speaker 2 (18:36):
Right? Yeah, there's a bout how do you.
Speaker 1 (18:37):
Put your leg and when you move it doesn't come out?
Kind of like when you get your foot stuck in
the mud and you pull your foot out and your
shoes stays on the mud.
Speaker 2 (18:44):
Yeah, that's exactly what it's like.
Speaker 1 (18:45):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (18:46):
Yeah, so there's a valve release button to get the air.
Speaker 1 (18:49):
And then is that everybody's Yeah.
Speaker 2 (18:52):
I mean you either have the pinlock the inner seal section,
or they have some that where you have this like
additional sleeve on the outside that will kind of stick
to a line or for you. I had that to
begin with. Most amputees start with that. I didn't like
it because it really restricted my knee mobility and ended
up causing me more cramping and pain in my joint,
(19:12):
and I didn't like that. I had more limited movement
because of that. So the inner steel works the best
for me.
Speaker 1 (19:18):
So the socket, the thing that comes over yourg huh
all right, the bottom of it, I guess has like
a flange or something that you could put different attachments
onto the sock.
Speaker 2 (19:32):
Yes, so they'll be like some sort of component to
fill the gap of space to get your height so
your alignment of your hips is correct, and then whatever
foot you have will go underneath that. And a lot
of processsts don't like for you to change your feet
out yourself, so a lot of people have because it's
a liability. Some people are capable of it, Like I'm
more than capable of changing my own feet, but you
(19:53):
know someone who's, yeah, it's a thing. It's a thing
I hate. I have a heel height adjustable foots that
I can wear high heels where you press the button
and it changes the instep of the foot because otherwise
the whole alignment of the leg would be off. So
it's all the things you never thought about. But yeah,
it's a thing.
Speaker 1 (20:10):
That's crazy, all right, So you start this thing in
two thousand and eight, who's the first person you raised
some money for?
Speaker 2 (20:15):
So the first person I raised money for was a
local fireman. He was out of Lincoln. I want to say, Lincoln.
That's terrible fireman.
Speaker 1 (20:24):
He's looking at non loser's foot. But maybe his.
Speaker 2 (20:26):
Occupation, right, well, that's what was he was in danger of.
So he was a fireman and he had sarcoma, and honestly,
firemen are susceptible to that because of everything they're breathing in,
which is kind of unfortunate. But he had sarcoma, had
the amputation, and then he wasn't able to go in
and run into the fires anymore because he didn't have
(20:47):
a foot that would accommodate running. So we surprised him
with a running blade. It was really emotional and made
me realize that I was doing exactly what I was
meant to do.
Speaker 1 (20:59):
Was he able to to you to be a fireman?
Speaker 2 (21:01):
Yeah, was able to go back to being a fireman.
He was able to put a boot on it for
a while, but then he redirected. I want to say,
now he's police, or he's he's.
Speaker 1 (21:10):
In some funny hedn't be an active.
Speaker 2 (21:13):
No, And actually now I feel like he's even more
active now than he was at that time. And he
actually messaged me out too long ago about wanting to
come and run like our next race and be a
part of things, which is cool.
Speaker 1 (21:24):
But when you did it and you saw how happy
he was, you just said, I relized. One, I need
to do the rest of a lot.
Speaker 2 (21:34):
Yeah, I mean I found your purpose. Yeah, I think yeah.
And I am not one of these like everything happens
for a reason. I actually really hate that saying, because
I don't think that I had cancer for any reason.
I think I was very unfortunate in that way. But
I think that again, you can't control your circumstances, but
(21:55):
you can control your response. And I was able to
take a really sad, an unfortunate situation and turn it
into good. So I always say like I'm a pro
at pivoting, like I'm a professional pivoter, And I always
say that I'm just richer. Yeah right, I like your jokes. Yeah,
And I I'm good at making you know, lemonade out
(22:16):
of lemons. Unfortunately, I've been handled a lot of lemons
in life, and I don't know, like it's not the
end all be all, like bad things can happen, but
it happens. I mean, not everything happens to everyone, and
some people have an easier time and other people don't.
Like I can tell you from multiple aspects of life,
I haven't had an easy time, but I'm not going
to sit here and dwell in it. It's I get
to be here, I get to be alive. I get
to go out and do everything I did before and more.
(22:39):
I mean, I can tell you I walked. My goal
was to walk and assisted without crutches at eight weeks
on my birthday, and I did it two days before.
And then I wanted to run a five k race
before or before the end of that year that first year,
and I ran my first five k in a running
blade without stopping at six and a half month's postop.
And then at my one year anniversary, I ran my
(22:59):
first ever ten k and Charleston the Charleston Bridge Run,
and that was further than I ever ran on two feet.
So again, I think it's just mindsets. Everything you know.
You can choose to feel bad for yourself and your circumstances,
or you can say, like this sucks, but like, how
do we make the best of it? And I get
to be here? Like, I can't tell you how many
people I met their move for Jen who found out
(23:21):
their diagnosis even with a low grade situation later than
I did, and they're in really unfortunate situations, are no
longer here. And so like I know the reality of cancer.
I know that I'm so lucky that I get to
be here, and I'm lucky that I was able to
take my situation and share my story and help a
lot of people and be the person that they needed
when there's not a lot of people who can really
(23:43):
understand and be there in that way.
Speaker 1 (23:46):
So how did it morph? All of this energy, all
of this purpose, dedication, all of this I'm not letting
it beat me. All of that I helped one fireman.
I know this is what I want to do for
the rest of my life. Now, I know this is
my purpose. I know this is my thing, and let's
be have I mean, we talk about an army of
(24:07):
normal folks. You're a thirty year old woman with two
kids and a job. I mean, how much more normal
could you be? Yeah to now doing this? So how
does it more from that into what you're doing today,
how many people have you helped? What are you doing?
Tell us about what this foundation is now that is
(24:27):
obviously beyond your just personal story.
Speaker 2 (24:30):
That's what I love about it now, Like none of
it is about me, Like nothing about it is about me,
And that's why I love it now, the foundation now,
I mean, I just feel like everything kept organically growing
in it. And to your point about being this like normal,
you know, well now I'm forty one, but it's time
thirty something, you know, mom with two kids. Now I'm
forty one with two kids. I think like being a normal,
(24:53):
relatable person is really what has I don't know, like
just kept people supporting. Like I think I'm relatable. I
think people like listen and hear me and can make
correlations to their own lives, to my life or like
my efforts and what I'm doing, and people have gravitated
wanting to help make a difference. Like I think a
lot of times people, normal people want to do good
(25:15):
and they don't know how. And I think when they
see somebody who's normal, who's found a path, like it's
easy to jump on.
Speaker 1 (25:21):
We always talk about the real amazing things that happen,
is when somebody's passion and their abilities collawde.
Speaker 2 (25:29):
Yeah, that's this, Yeah, do it t Sea.
Speaker 1 (25:34):
So how many people tell me what you're doing?
Speaker 2 (25:37):
Yeah?
Speaker 1 (25:38):
Tell me what this thing is. Tell me what's not today?
Speaker 2 (25:41):
Okay. So we do a big five k race every year.
We just had our sixth one in February. Usually we
do it Q three Q four, but this year we
did Q one and I will never do Q one again,
So twenty twenty six is going back to Q three.
We do a big race every year. We usually have
about a thousand people out. It's a huge event for
everybody for ever. Just no, no, no, yes, I do
(26:01):
let amputees run my race free because I try to
encourage people to get out and move because you can
and not feel again the financial burden. Some people might
think like, oh, I don't want to spend thirty dollars
and run a race and what if I don't get
to do it. And I kind of want to like
eliminate all that. So like, if you're an amputee, reach
out to me, come run my race for free. We
do a kid's fun run, which is a mile long.
We do a five k race and then we do
(26:23):
this whole post race festival with like a DJ and
food and vendors and health things and all these inflatables
for kids. And we have our own beer called Hops
on one Leg. It's an ipa. So yeah, I love it, yeah,
so yeah. And honestly, like we just I just have
so many amazing partnerships.
Speaker 1 (26:42):
With the care. It's all the move for Gin Foundation.
Speaker 2 (26:45):
Stuff, right, But I love it because like we're supported
by like mom and pop small businesses and Charlotte, but
we're also supported by like Lulu Lemon and United Healthcare
and Lincoln Financial and like some of these like major corporations,
like some of the big banks. And it's great because
but then we're also supported by like small restaurants and
small you know business, and I love supporting small business.
(27:07):
So I love finding ways that we can collaborate and like,
and I always say I never want to be a
foundation or a person that collects a check, like I
always want to use our platform, like how can we
elevate the people who are supporting us and highlight them
and show their efforts. And I think that's gone a
long way.
Speaker 1 (27:21):
And so you're raising tens of thousands of dollars, hundreds
I guess.
Speaker 2 (27:27):
Yeah, we've raised over a million dollars to date. We've
given sixty three different prosthetics.
Speaker 1 (27:32):
Sixty three different people. Yeah that specifically lost our und
two sarcoma.
Speaker 2 (27:38):
So yes, but we have had or related We had
one woman who lost her limb, she had melanoma in
her foot and so she fell into our category. And
we have had one other case where we had a
one off situation that our board allowed.
Speaker 1 (27:55):
And how much money does one of these sixty three
people usually take to get all situated?
Speaker 2 (28:02):
So it really depends because you know, for someone who's
a below the below the knee amputee obviously like a
socket and a foot, situation is much different than someone
who's an above the knee or at the hip, and
they're going to need more components. Also, I know we
talked a little bit about like a microprocessing ankle, where
like it has a you know, microprocessor that adds to
(28:22):
the movement and the terrain and your cadence and all
the things. That's much more expensive. It's also much heavier
in general.
Speaker 1 (28:29):
Yes, it could be five to fifty thousand dollars depending
on the person.
Speaker 2 (28:33):
Yeah, I mean sometimes I can do it for a
little bit less. I have set pricing that I have
negotiated with all the different manufacturers, so that way it
kind of cuts out a middleman. So before, initially I
would have to order through like a processus because all
the manufacturers will only sell to a medical office. But
now that we've established relationships with everybody, I have my
own house accounts, so I can go direct to the manufacturer.
(28:54):
I know my set costs and it helps me stretch
my dollars further.
Speaker 1 (28:57):
That's so cool.
Speaker 2 (28:58):
Yeah, it is cool.
Speaker 1 (29:02):
We'll be right back. Tell me about land Oh he such.
Speaker 2 (29:17):
A sweet kid. Okay. So land In is a seven
year old boy who had osteosarcoma who I just surprised
with Scramo bone cancer. Yeah seven seven, Yeah.
Speaker 1 (29:30):
So oh did they have to amputatee?
Speaker 2 (29:32):
They did, and he had.
Speaker 1 (29:33):
I know, but did they have to amputatee below above
the knee?
Speaker 2 (29:37):
So he had a procedure that is becoming more common
with kids now. It's called rotation plasty. So essentially they
take out the portion of leg that is cancerous. He
didn't have it in his foot, he had it in
his leg. And so what they do is they remove
the portion of your leg that has the cancer. And
then they take your foot, rotate it one hundred and
(29:58):
eighty degrees, and your heel becomes your I know this
is wild, Yes, it's wild.
Speaker 1 (30:04):
Slow down. They take the piece of cancer, the bone
that's cancer.
Speaker 2 (30:10):
They removed the portion of your leg that.
Speaker 1 (30:11):
Has cancer, and then they take your foot and it
around yep, and then they use your feel.
Speaker 2 (30:19):
To become your knee, so you have an active joint.
It's wild.
Speaker 1 (30:25):
Yeah, they can do that.
Speaker 2 (30:26):
They can do that, and what there they found is
that it gives kids a lot more mobility than being
in above the knee amputee.
Speaker 1 (30:33):
Wow. Okay, so they did that to this pork.
Speaker 2 (30:37):
Yep, So he had that. So a girl that I
was acquaintances with through mutual friends from college, she had
shared his GoFundMe on Facebook and I randomly caught it.
I don't know how it showed up in my feed,
but I guess the algorithm caught sarcoma. And I clicked
it and I read his story when I saw that
he had cancer, and I saw he was an amputee,
so automatically I knew, nine times out of ten, ampute
(30:59):
is sarcoma. So I reached out to her and I
was like, can you connect me with this family because
I want help? And so she was like yes, Like
I actually thought about that, and I don't know why
I didn't make the connection. So she connected his mom
Jen and I her name is Jen also, and we
started talking and I started mentoring her through the process
because I feel like when like you first become an amputee,
(31:19):
like you don't know what to ask for at the
prosthetic office, you don't know what kind of feet to
look for, what you want a demo or what? You
know nothing? And I knew nothing like I wouldn't blind. Yeah,
you're scared, absolutely, and you don't want to make the
wrong choice.
Speaker 1 (31:31):
You're even really scared once you're a seven year old kid.
Speaker 2 (31:33):
Yes, absolutely, that's worse than it happening to you one
hundred percent. So I reached out to her and I
was like, Hey, you don't know me. I'm a friend
of SO and so this is my organization. I read
Landon's story, like I want to help you anyway I can.
I know you're probably gearing up for prosthetics, Like can
we connect, like I'll talk you through everything, and she
was like please. So we got on the phone and
(31:54):
we started talking and I started you know, she would
ask me what to ask. I would tell her what
to ask for, tell her what to you know, what
feet he should try, like what paths she should go,
what's important, what to advocate for, because like you just
don't know. And she started crying and she's like, I
feel like God sent me you to me because I
didn't know what I was doing. And I finally feel
(32:14):
like I have direction. And I was like it's okay,
Like it's gonna be okay. And the more we started talking,
I was like, we have to help him, like further
than this. So I said to her, like, would you
be willing to come to Charlotte soon? And she was
like sure, Like what's going on? I was like, well,
we have our golf tournament and normally we keep it
a surprise, but because he's your son, like I want
to make sure you'd be comfortable. But like I would
(32:35):
love to give him a running blade. We would love
to give him a running blade at our event because
we always give surprise grants, so at every event that
we have, like I always love to show people where
their money goes, Like you can read stories all day
and that's great, But when you get to be part
of a moment where you're giving mobility back to someone,
it's something that is really like it's relatable to everyone,
Like you walked into my event, like you you walked around,
(32:56):
you got yourself a coffee, Like you're getting in a
golf cart, like you're moving the whole day. Like you
can put that correlation together and think like, wow, if
this kid doesn't have this, like he doesn't get to
do that. And so they came to Charlotte and we
surprised him with a running blade. But the coolest part
about our golf tournament this year, and actually a lot
of people said this, We'll sometimes have amputees come to
(33:18):
different things, and obviously we give surprise grants at all
of our events, but there were so many amputees this
year who came to play golf and it was so
cool because it was like every couple holes you went to,
there was somebody with a prosthetic and it just created
this sense of community that I feel like I've been
striving for but like didn't even realize that we created
when we created it, and it was just a really
(33:38):
cool moment. But the best part so when Landon got
to the golf trnament, he was really shy, and we
gifted him the running blade in front of everyone, and
we also gifted a woman a microprocessing foot for hiking.
And afterwards I said to land and I was like,
can I take you for a ride on the golf cart?
And he was like, yeah, that'd be great. So I
took him and his family around on the golf cart
and we stopped and every golf or fist bumped him
(34:00):
and high fived him and talked to him. But he
got to meet so many amputees on the course.
Speaker 1 (34:04):
That's so he got to feel not weird and got
to feel normal.
Speaker 2 (34:08):
Correct. It normalized so much.
Speaker 1 (34:10):
He made everything okay for him right.
Speaker 2 (34:12):
And so he had just started walking two weeks before that,
so he was still with crutches and learning and balancing
and learning how to wait there. And he went from
being this shy, reclusive kid when he first got there
to like, do you play roadblocks? Your kids play roadblocks?
Like can you come and hang out with me in
Curnersville where I live, and can we run together? And
I want to come to Charlotte and hang out with you.
And he was just a sweet I mean, he opened
(34:34):
up completely, and when he left, his mom messaged me
and said that he told her on the way home
that he was going to work really hard to not
need crutches so he could be like everybody else at
the tournament. And that to me was like, what move
for gens all about. It's a payoff, normalize it, give
people back what they're meant to do.
Speaker 1 (34:51):
And we need to remember many adults might have any depressants,
in any anxiety medicine to get through.
Speaker 2 (34:59):
That doesn't happen for us, No, it does not.
Speaker 1 (35:02):
So he's processing absolutely.
Speaker 2 (35:05):
Absolutely, Yeah, maam, let's talk.
Speaker 1 (35:09):
Yeah, but how's he doing.
Speaker 2 (35:12):
He's doing really good. Yeah, he's doing great. He's not
running yet because still early, but he's getting there. He's
want to walk one hundred percent. He will without question.
There's a girl that we funded who lives in Carrie,
North Carolina, and I helped her mom through the process.
She was in a flier. Her name is Addison. If
I would have met her mom in college in a bar,
we would have been best friend. So we hit it
(35:33):
off like right away. But she was in the wrong
kind of prosthetic. She was in something that didn't fit well.
And I caught her video on Instagram that was shared
by like a prosthetic office or something, and I reached
out and I was like, I want to I want
to help you, Like, let's why does she not have
a running blade? And she's like, well, we don't really
know about any of this stuff. And I was like, well,
let's change that. And so, come to find out, she
(35:55):
was in the wrong kind of socket, the wrong kind
of foot. And I'm not a prosthetist, but like, I
know enough to dangerous at this point, and so I
made recommendations. We found a new procetist for her to
work with who works with active kids, not geriatric adults,
and everything changed for her. And now we've given her
two different walking feet, one or two running blades I
can't remember. And she literally does everything like she swims,
(36:17):
she does gymnastics, she does horseback riding. She plays soccer
like she literally does play soccer.
Speaker 1 (36:23):
Oh yeah, every how can you play soccer with this
thing on?
Speaker 2 (36:26):
With a running blade? You just you run? I mean
she has a running blade that has a special heel
on it that one of the manufacturers make. It's actually
like a really great one for kids, and she's able
to run and keep up with the rest of the team,
and same thing. Like her mom initially was like I
hate that she's not keeping up with the kids in
the neighborhood, like they're playing tag and she can't keep up.
But now she can. And her mom will literally send
(36:47):
me videos of her doing like every activity possible. I mean,
she was like at a rock climbing park. She's swimming,
she's jumping, she's paddleboarding at the ocean, like she literally
does everything, and like that to me is the biggest payoff.
Speaker 1 (36:59):
So I'm a person named Connie said, I just want
to thank you again, not just forgiving me the grant,
which has changed my life so much in a few
weeks that I've had the blade, but even more support,
you know, the toll that being an amput can have
on you physically and mentally. It's been a challenge finding
my place again after my imputation. Sometimes I feel misunderstood
(37:23):
or people try to cater to me just because I'm
an ampt and pity me, or more so that I
don't fit into that normal body box anymore. I haven't
had the opportunity to find many people like me or
people that see me for who I am beyond an
amputee or people that accept me for who I am
and treat me like a normal person. What you've given
(37:46):
me is so much more than a grant. You've given
me a place where I'm fully supported and truly seen
as an able bodied person. You've helped me in more
ways you have when you hear them, what do you think.
Speaker 2 (38:01):
I did my job?
Speaker 1 (38:05):
I would think if any human being could do something
that would have another human being say that about their
efforts that you know, you've reached a place that you
feel pretty good about life and what you're doing. So
what's next?
Speaker 2 (38:21):
What's next with the foundation? Yeah, there's a lot of things.
I mean, obviously I hope we continue to grow. We're
looking at different ways to expand our network, expand our outreach,
different ways to I mean, it's a nonprofit, but it's
still a business, so you have to look at it
that way. I think initially I looked at it more
emotionally than professionally, and now it's definitely like a mixture.
Obviously it's personal for me, but at the end of
(38:44):
the day, it's a business. And so the summer we're
actually hosting our first intern programs so I have twelve
interns this summer that I'm leading through a whole summer
program and so that's been fun. That's cool, And we
have some new events coming for the fall and just
really looking to expand our outreach, expand our funding, expand
our give and obviously I love speaking. I do a
(39:04):
lot of initiatives when I can, and so any way
to I guess like share the mission and help more people,
like that's always the.
Speaker 1 (39:12):
Goal, which we How do people find you?
Speaker 2 (39:14):
So you can go to move forgen dot org with
two ends Jen with two ends f O R J
E n N dot org. Obviously also on LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram.
I feel like we're most active on Instagram. It's at
move for gen is the handle. But yeah, you can
go on our website and we share all the stories
of everything. We have blogs on people we help in
(39:36):
different events that we have obviously different fundraising initiatives. July
is our come awareness months, so we have a lot
going on this month to bring awareness and raise funding
and help more people. So that's kind of what we're
all about.
Speaker 1 (39:49):
That's really cool.
Speaker 4 (39:50):
Jen said she's game to share her email too.
Speaker 2 (39:54):
Yeah, I can share my email. It's Jen j Nn
at movefogen dot org.
Speaker 1 (39:58):
Yeah, for anybody that wants to help, anybody has a
friend that maybe needs help, anybody that wants to donate,
or if you're an amputee and you're feeling a little
lost and you don't have anybody around you as perspective,
imagine people in your organization.
Speaker 2 (40:15):
Have just that for sure. And honestly, my foundation is
sarcoma based, and obviously for funding we are sarcoma specific.
But when it comes to mentorship, I help everyone. Like
I'm helping a woman right now out of Georgia who
was in a really bad car accident and lost her limb,
and she's like one of the most incredible women I've
ever encountered, Like I just think so highly of her.
(40:35):
We haven't even met in person yet, but she is
literally me through this journey. And it doesn't have to
be like the mentor side. It doesn't have to be
sarcoma focused. It can be, you know, just anything. I'm
always happy to be a resource and a person.
Speaker 1 (40:48):
I got to have price pedicuresto.
Speaker 2 (40:50):
I love that you ask that. So there is one thing,
there's one a salon near me that I actually love
the most and they do charge me half price is
really really nice.
Speaker 1 (41:01):
Yeah, so maybe you can't laugh.
Speaker 2 (41:05):
I literally tell people that all the time. They're like,
you make the worst jokes. I'm like, if you don't laugh,
you cry. So it is what it is.
Speaker 1 (41:10):
I mean, look, man, I grew up fat and red headed.
You got to joke at stuff. What are you going
to do? Right?
Speaker 2 (41:16):
That's funny, you know what.
Speaker 4 (41:18):
I want one random idea story to put you on
this podcast. But you thought about like races and other communities,
like say here in Memphis. If people do race here,
I think that could be an interesting way.
Speaker 1 (41:29):
For especially given Saint Jude's around.
Speaker 4 (41:33):
Community, especially to have other runners using prosthetics for them
to meet them in person there and make a grant
there and you can always.
Speaker 1 (41:40):
There's a huge running community. There's a huge running community here.
But I guarantee there have been kids a Saint Jude
that have that are amputas.
Speaker 2 (41:48):
Oh. I've actually funded one because from Memphis. She's not
from Memphis, she lives in Arizona, but she was a
Saint Jude kid and Saint Jude will pay for a
certain number of prosthetics, certain number of resources. But she
needed she wanted, like a leg that looked like a leg.
Does that make sense to like? She didn't want a
(42:09):
leg that looked like a prosthetic. She wanted like a
skin tone one that when she wore leggings, like she's
going into high school, Like it would fill out the spot.
Speaker 1 (42:16):
Completely understandable. Somebody would want, but.
Speaker 2 (42:19):
Saint Jude wouldn't fund that, and I did, so, Yeah,
there's always a gap.
Speaker 1 (42:24):
Yeah, So if anybody's listening, you know, would you be
willing to talk to somebody about doing races in other
cities and growing?
Speaker 2 (42:33):
I I'm always open to growing. I'm always open to brainswimming.
I will say the race is definitely a labor of love.
It's a lot of work at this point. The one
in Charlotte's a well oiled machine, but it would take
a lot. I would need to make sure that the
presence was there.
Speaker 1 (42:46):
Well, let me speak for you, Okay, in one way, yes,
she'd do it, but bring sponsors.
Speaker 2 (42:52):
But bring sponsors.
Speaker 1 (42:53):
If you bring sponsors, you could pull anything off. But
from somebody who's done some of that kind of work before,
bring sponsors.
Speaker 2 (43:00):
Yeah, if so, I'm in Yeah, Jim.
Speaker 1 (43:04):
Safe travels home. Thanks for telling your story. Thanks for
coming to Memphis, but more importantly, thanks for the amazing
work that you're doing for folks in a community that
many people don't even understand, for sarcoma for one, amputees
for another. And I appreciate the education. I've always wondered
(43:25):
about some of the things I asked you, and it's
neat to speak with somebody who's so open and transparent
about that. You don't feel guilty or like you're imposing
when you ask somebody questions about the stuff. So I've
learned a lot.
Speaker 4 (43:38):
And one more thing. Yeah, you asked about foundation goals.
Tell them about your personal goal. What race you're doing
coming up?
Speaker 3 (43:45):
Oh?
Speaker 1 (43:45):
Yeah, you're not running a marathon. I was wondering about that.
I should have asked earlier.
Speaker 2 (43:51):
Yeah. So I signed up for the Chicago Half on
September twenty eighth. I'm trying to train for it. I'm
having some trouble with my prosthetics, but I am scheduled
to run a half marathon, my first half marathon September.
Speaker 1 (44:03):
How far is I half marathon?
Speaker 2 (44:04):
Thirteen?
Speaker 1 (44:05):
Wow?
Speaker 2 (44:07):
Does it hurt when things don't fit properly? Yes? And
I'm dealing with that right now. So when things fit,
it's okay. So I gotta have some adjustments made in
the next a little bit.
Speaker 1 (44:18):
I have the sneaky suspicion you're going to power through
and figure it out.
Speaker 2 (44:21):
I sure am, And you're going to do it in Chicago.
I'm in Chicago.
Speaker 1 (44:24):
I don't wear a shirt that says, you know, do
you wear your your Move for Gin stuff when you run.
Speaker 2 (44:29):
I will wear something Move for Gen. I mean, yeah, exactly,
So I'll probably wear something Lula Lemon and then have
it branded with Move for Gen. So yeah, Lula Lemon
has been very good to me in so many ways
and so good to Move for Gen, and I'm super
thankful for that partnership.
Speaker 1 (44:45):
Well, good luck and we'll be cheering you on from Emphis.
Speaker 2 (44:48):
Thank you, I appreciate it.
Speaker 1 (44:49):
Travels home. Thanks for your story. It's our coma sacks.
Speaker 2 (44:52):
What coma sax.
Speaker 1 (44:55):
Officially sacked?
Speaker 4 (44:56):
John Norman always posts that on his Instagram Arcomas circummaces.
Speaker 1 (45:01):
Yeah, yeah, all right, thanks here, thank you and thank
you for joining us this week. If Jen Andrews has
inspired you in general or better yet, to take action
by donating to Move for Jin, sharing Jen's story on
social media, not being a victim or something else entirely.
(45:22):
Please let me know I'd love to hear about it.
You can write me anytime at Bill at normal folks
dot us, and I promise you I will respond. If
you enjoyed this episode, share it with friends and on
social subscribe to the podcast, rate and review it. Join
the army at normal folks dot us. Consider becoming a
(45:44):
premium member. There all of these things that will help
us grow an army of normal folks. I'm Bill Courtney.
Until next time, do what you can live
Host
Bill Courtney
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