Amy Purdy

www.motortrend.com (NBC Olympics)

At the age of 15, Amy Purdy decided that she loved to snowboard. When she started snowboarding, she learned to have confidence in herself and love all the great things about life. When Amy was 19, she was excited about her future and what was ahead, but never thought about what happened next. At the age of 19, Amy had Neisseria meningitis, which led to the failure of her kidneys and the removal of her spleen. But, it also caused the amputation of both of her legs when her body went into shock. Her body stopped the blood flow to her legs to help save her organs. But, she is very healthy to this day. Before, during, and after this tragedy popped into her life, she knew that snowboarding would always be a part of her life forever. When she was in the hospital, all she could think about is how she's going to snowboard again and what it's going to take to get back on a board. Before Amy lost her legs, she was a massage therapist who loved to snowboard and wanted to see the world. With her future changed, Amy was still determined to do the same things she did before, but just differently. She knew she couldn't quit, because quitting meant giving up things that were most important in her life. While Amy was in the hospital, she claims her doctor said, whatever you believe in, think about it right now. When that happened, Amy thought in her head about love. She believed in loving life, loving each other, and loving to snowboard. Now, this is what inspires her today. Even though she loved snowboarding, she never thought about going to the Olympics until after she lost her legs. She went to the 2014 Sochi Paralympics and won a bronze medal. She also started Adaptive Action Sports to create opportunities for people with physical disabilities, and stars on the 18th season of Dancing with The Stars continuing to inspire people everywhere. Amy Purdy is a hero because throughout her life, no matter what, she has had determination, strength, and uses that to inspire others. Having determination is to have the will to continue trying and accomplishing goals during tough times. Having strength means to have power and courage, and to use it to help support yourself and those you care about. Being inspiring is causing people to want to do or create something that will make their lives better or other people's lives. Amy Purdy is a hero because of her ability to keep moving forward has been shown through her action, with the help of her great qualities: determination, strength, and joy for inspiring others.

Amy Purdy shows she is a hero through her determination to keep doing what she loves. She didn't let her disability take over who she is. She strived for the goals she had, and got to where she is now. With the accomplishments she has now, it's all from knowing she could continue what she loved to do in life. When Amy was in the hospital, there could've been times she stopped the goals she set for herself for the future, but she decided to step up to the challenge set in front of her. She had this drive from her love for snowboarding. Giving up probably would've been the easy way to have a really sad, boring life. But, Amy had a goal for herself to snowboard again. It shows how Amy Purdy's determination shows when Alyssa Roenigk said, "Miraculously, Purdy lived, becoming the first person in Las Vegas in more than 20 years to survive after contracting Neisseria meningitis. 'But I didn't know if I would ever snowboard again, or how,' she says. 'No one I talked to knew of an amputee snowboarder. They knew skiers. But I wanted to do what I loved.'" Amy fought against this virus that she caught, and it costed her vital parts of her body. While lots of things were breaking down, she was still determined to snowboard again. There wasn't any say about a snowboarder with amputated legs, but Amy wanted to change that so she could do what she loved. Amy's constant will to snowboard helped her get back to normal again. Although she did have to get used to her disability first, once that was done she was ready to try what she loved again. Even in the condition that she was in, she somehow found something to keep her from making her new disability be who she was. She loved snowboarding so much, that it helped her heal and get back to normal. She knew that doing that first would be steps closer to going back into the snow again. Juliet Izon interviewed Amy, and she said, "'I was given less than a two percent chance of survival,' Purdy says. 'But the entire time I was in the hospital, I thought, 'When am I going to snowboard again and how am I going to do this?'" Amy knew that this challenge in her life would change a lot, but it didn't change how much love she had for the things in her life before what happened. She knew that without having legs, snowboarding would be really different. But, she knew she would find a way. Amy didn't let anything stop her from doing what she's loved again. Even if it took a million ways to get her back on a snowboard, she would've tried all of them just to snowboard again. Amy Purdy not only went through a lot transitioning to how life was before, she needed to find a way for her to snowboard again. She was determined to not make her disability stop her from being who she is.

When Amy was weak, she got back up again. When she felt like giving up, she pushed the thought aside and fought. She made something amazing out of something terrible. She had the courage to face challenges. That is what being strong is all about. Amy Purdy showed how strong she is in the past 15 years since she's had her disability. When getting noticed on Dancing with The Stars, it's not only her ability to wow everyone with her dancing to get that attention. It's also how the journey told before it that shows her strength. Barry Bradford recognizes this when he said, "Amy Purdy depends on her own willpower, the skill of her brilliant choreographer/partner, and her willingness to practice to the point of exhaustion to overcome the obstacles she faces. It is the exact same personal, internal motivation and strength of character that led her to represent the USA at the Paralympic games in snowboarding." Amy has this great quality to not give up, and finds energy in herself to keep going. Even after what she has gone through, she still enjoys life.When learning to dance, it gets frustrating for her, but she still keeps going to get it right. She doesn't want to let down her family, herself, and people she's inspiring. Amy continues to have this rock-solid character to keep trying, and to try every possible way to accomplish the goals she sets for herself. Her strength shows when she keeps trying, and uses the power she has in herself to achieve the impossible. While it may seem like Amy has a strong mentality, it is because of realizing what really matters. She knows what she cares about the most in the world, so she remembers how important they are. She tries to keep her energy very positive. In an interview with Anna Langer, Amy Purdy said, "I am very aware of my own mortality now which constantly reminds me that at any moment life can completely change or be taken away, so that forces me to try to live everyday to the fullest. Right after I lost my legs I realized that the energy you put out is the energy you receive, so the more focused and positive I am, the more positive things come back to me. There are times when I get down, or get frustrated but I do my best to not stay there too long. I allow myself to get upset and then I move forward. Amy Purdy shows she sees this strategy for life to just give out good energy, and it will come right back to you. She opens up about getting frustrated like all of us do. But, she keeps going and lets it go past her. She believes that keeping that anger for too long just wastes the time she could use to resolve her emotions. She has the strength to check herself when she feels like she should change her attitude. She knows that if you keep moving forward, that's a few more steps closer to achieving her goal. That's what matters. She feels that even though she gets mad and frustrated like everyone else does, it's best to get out of that soon. Once you lost that time, you won't get it bad because anything can happen at any time. Whether it's Amy on the dance floor, Amy in the snow, or Amy just at home, she continues to have powerful strength within herself. She is able to fight back the frustration and bad energy because she knows it's not important. She has the will to keep moving forward, and to keep moving toward her goals.

Amy Purdy is a good person who went through something really bad. But, not letting that become who she is, shows how Amy inspires people everywhere. In an interview with The Huffington Post, Megan Griffo was able to speak with her and she said, "'Since losing my legs, I've found out that I am able to help other people by sharing how I've overcome my obstacles,' she [Amy] said. 'This is a new, exciting movement that allows me to do that.'And even though the paralympian isn't immune to feeling discouraged, she's continuing to move forward. 'You have those bad days.You don't have to be positive all the time,' Purdy said. 'But I have the opportunity to share that with people, and show them how I've kept going.'" Because of Amy's great qualities of determination and strength, she was able to show that when she fought against obstacles. Now, she gets to tell people about the experience, and what she's doing today to overcome more obstacles. Amy wants to help other people by telling them about how it's okay to be upset, but also how to overcome that feeling. Amy knows about her mortality, she knows that everyone's life experiences won't be perfect. But, she inspires people by showing them it's possible to move on, and it's possible to make good out of bad. She helps individuals by fighting against her challenges and shows them it's absolutely possible to get out of a bad situation. Amy Purdy starred on Good Morning America talking about going from Sochi to transitioning into Dancing with the Stars, and Michael Rothman quoted Amy when she said, "If we can see past preconceived limitations then the possibilities are endless. I'm here right now in Sochi, amidst truly remarkable people from all over the world, each of whom has a story of overcoming big challenges. Being on the show, if I can be just a tiny catalyst in getting people at large to see people with physical challenges a little differently that would be a great honor." Amy wants to not only inspire people with her background story, but with ability to take control of her challenges about fight against them. She doesn't want to just be noticed by her legs, she wants to show people how to keep moving forward, past the bad times. Amy wants to be able to show people who she is for what really matters, not just because of her disability. Amy has so much to show the world, and so much to inspire us. She just hopes that she can keep doing that if people don't focus on her disability, but about how she overcame it. Amy Purdy continues to inspire people with the way she has knocked down her obstacles and made more positive outcomes. Her mentality and attitude towards life is how she is inspiring people. Being able to show people how to keep moving forward is the way she is inspiring people.

Amy Purdy is a hero because of her determination, strength, and continuing to inspire others. She has her perspective on life, and uses that to help others overcome whatever they are going through. Amy shows her determination through motivating herself to snowboard again after she got sick. She is strong because she is able to keep moving forward, and keep making good out or bad. She inspires others by sharing with them her journey, but also how she has overcome her disability. Amy inspires me because not only does she has the ability to fight her challenges, but has this great outlook on life. She had the strength to keep trying to continue her passion. She inspires me because she doesn't want to be famous because of her legs. She wants to take advantage of the situation and use it to help inspire people everywhere. Amy Purdy has special qualities inside her that should be recognized, not just her legs. That's how she has been inspiring people. She continues to be a hero because she wants to show people that they can overcome their own personal obstacles.