Today was my first official day working at an after school daycare center. I gave a two minute speech about having a prosthetic leg and afterwards one of the kids gave me this. "He's just like Ms. Kelly!"

Oh hi. I am Kelly and I am a kayaker. This means my hands have huge holes and my hair is never dry. Welcome to my life.

                                And then sometimes this whole "bionic leg" thing ain't so bad.

I love my job.

The 2012 Kayak Polo Nationals are this weekend and even though I am just watching this year, it's still a great time!

Camp YesICan is a week long camp for amputee children put on by Wright & Filipis at Bay Cliff Health Camp in Big Bay, Michigan. It has been a favorite part of my summer routine for the past eight years. I go back as a counselor now because well, if you had this much fun you would too!

The kids that attend this camp are some of the most outgoing, creative, upbeat kids you may ever meet. Most of them I have known for the past seven years. I have watched me grow with their disabilities and become amazing people. They inspire me. Growing up I didn't really have the ability to get together with many other disabled kids. But when this camp started, that all changed. I now had the power to talk to other kids who would be going through life experiences like me. The bonds that are made in this one week are ones that can never be broken. 

                             

Well of course there is physical therapy, this is amp camp! Basically the only thing that makes this camp different from any other summer camp is that there is daily physical therapy. Wright & Filippis (which just happens to be where I get all my legs) has decided that during this week of fun, they would provide the best physical therapist and prosthetists to help make our prosthetics the best they can be. 

http://vimeo.com/45968190


Above is one of the best Paralympic commercials I have seen.

I just got back from a Team Summit camp at Mt. Hood, Oregon. Skiing in July is still sometime I am trying to wrap my head around.

Extremity Games

      I defended my title in kayaking at the Extremity Games for the fifth time this past month! I am extremely passionate about this event and the positive impact it has had on my life. I can honestly say I would not be the same athlete/person I am today without this event.
      Growing up in such a rural area, adaptive sports just wasn't an option. I participated in all able bodied activities, learning to adapt myself along the way. I actually consider this a blessing. Because I was  always having to push myself ten times harder to keep up with the able bodied kids, determination and hard work are second nature to me. Also, I think it is where I got my competitive spirit.  I really don't think there is a better feeling than when you see the spark of realization in someones eyes that "oh, maybe this won't an easy win after all". Stepping onto the court or field as the only disabled athlete  has been my life up until the first Extremity Games.
       I don't think I will ever forget the first year. It is by far the most influential event to happen in my life to this day. I mean it had everything! The venue was amazing, competition was fierce, and the goody bags weren't too shabby. These few things alone were more than I was expecting. Although, the one thing I wasn't prepared for was the atmosphere and how positive it was. Yes, we are all competing against each other, but on the other hand, we were all one community cheering for one another. We all had a common bond that brought us together. This was the first place I could really just be myself. I didn't have to be self conscious about my limp, or worry about people staring when I took my leg off to go to the pool (I just leaned it up against the wall, next to the other abandoned limbs). The Extremity Games is where I learned to fully accept myself as a 'disabled' person. Up until this point of my life, I had always worn the most cosmetic legs I could have. However, I think it was the day after I got off the plane to come home that I called my prosthetist and told her I wanted function over fashion. So now I wear my crazy legs that bare no resemblance to the human body what so ever. And for a fourteen year old girl to be making this decision to fully embrace herself and tell the world "hey world, this is me" I think the games served its part.

The staff at the Extremity Games has become family. I love them and all that they have done for me and so many others!