Miracles In Motion: Clare

“My 2016 New Year’s resolution was to learn how to run again. At the age of 18, my life as I knew it turned upside down when I lost my leg due to septic shock while undergoing chemotherapy treatment for leukemia. It was the summer before I was supposed to attend college, and I suddenly found myself in a hospital bed instead of a dorm room.

Over the years, I’ve worked to overcome many physical obstacles in order to walk independently again. Sometimes I have dreams that I am running, or that I am back on the soccer field, and then I wake up. Due to a hip replacement and other side effects from chemo, doctors recently advised me against trying to run with a prosthetic leg. I was crushed, knowing I’ll possibly never again experience the feeling of my feet hitting the pavement in a jog or being able to run toward the ocean on the beach. So in 2017, instead of focusing on what I couldn’t do, I decided to focus on what I am able to do.

Skiing was the first thing on my list.

I’ve learned that almost any sport can be adapted for someone who is differently-abled. The day of my first ski lesson, I stood at the top of the first beginner’s run looking down at the snow-covered hills and felt absolutely terrified. I had no clue how my prosthetic knee would be able to handle the movement and turns involved in skiing down the slope.

My instructor sensed I was nervous and told me to take a deep breath and exhale. I did, and then I pushed forward down the slope. Once I made it down, I looked back up from where I had come and was in disbelief I had made it without a serious fall or broken bone. It’s always good to look back and appreciate how far you’ve come—in skiing and in life.” – Clare, Development Coordinator, CMN Hospitals

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Miracles In Motion tells the inspiring stories of our patients, families, clinicians and staff in their every day lives. These moments that occur inside the walls of UF Health Shands Children’s Hospital are what make this incredible hospital such a special place to over 150,000 patient families each year that are treated there. Follow along with the Miracles In Motion tag below to learn more about these stories and how Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals makes even the most ordinary moments extraordinary.