As a farm girl from rural Kentucky, I constructed worlds in which I lived through the two outlets I loved best – telling stories and singing. When I was a young girl I could not physically go away from the farm, so I used writing to do it for me. When I grew up, I became a classically trained singer and performed for many years in Europe and America so I have always used my imagination and creativity liberally.

Writing is one of the greatest highs in the world for me because the truth of the matter is; I am inside every character I create. The sociopath on death row whose only redeeming qualities are his love of classical music and a dark rich Bordeaux, the young woman who is addicted to romance novels and goes all over the country searching for a man who is portrayed in her favorite book, the little boy who loses his much loved grandmother and writes a letter to God to hand deliver to her when she enters heaven, the elderly lady who gets mad at the neighbor’s poodle because he pees on her prize roses so she kills it and uses it for fertilizer and the loving wife who decides that life without her husband who committed suicide is not worth living at all. In one degree or another, for better or for worse, I am inside them as they are all inside me.

When people ask why I write, I just smile and say, “Because the characters make me.” The characters push me until their story is on the page. And the best part? All those characters and their stories make my 8-5 office job a lot more tolerable.

For me, the bottom line is this. If you have something in you that is dying to get out, then you better get it out of you before it dies. So if you want to sing, sing. If you want to write, write. If you want to tap-dance, well, having rhythm is a good thing to have with that dream but nonetheless, put on those taps shoes and give it a go. You owe it to yourself to at least try.

I am a bi-lateral double amputee.  I have been that since 1971.  I have learned to cope well.  I do most everything I set my mind to; I just learn to adjust them to accommodate my disability. I won’t lie.  It’s difficult sometimes…well, ok, it’s pretty difficult all the time but when you have to do something… you do it. Everyone has obstacles.  Some big, some small. I believe my obstacle…my disability does not define me.  How I cope with that disability does. I try really hard to be just as “Normal” as the next person but there are things that I will never overcome and I am ok with that. There is not other choice for me.

In October 2015, I had a total hip replacement on my left hip. That’s what I began to document on this blog. I wrote about it because in researching my own journey, I found there was just not much out there for amputees facing joint replacements. I found that amazing and very disturbing.  I invite you to read the  journey I took and if you are also an amputee, I hope it gives you some ideas of what to do and maybe even what NOT to do. I tried to be honest and informational. It was a long long, difficult road but I refused to let it beat me.

Now, it is 2018 and having recovered from the surgery, my life has taken more twists and turns and I want to tell you about them. I hope you enjoy my stories.

I welcome any and all comments.