“Linda had people laughing, crying and left everyone with the upbeat reminder that, ‘It is useless to talk about what we can’t do, but what we can do!'”

—Parkinson Assoc. of The Rockies

Photo credit: Bruce Ballard. Follow his blog at Parkingsuns.com

GET OUT … AND GO!

Imagine having your whole life ahead of you, newly married, well on your way to a promising career in medicine when a tragic accident leaves you a triple-amputee. Linda was 29-years-old. She resigned herself to a new reality. She was ready to let her husband go: “I’ll understand if you don’t want to stick around.”

“I didn’t marry your arms and your legs. If you can do it, I can do it.” With Dave’s tenacious love and support, Linda returned to Los Angeles one year later where she lived on her own again, passed her exam to become a Diagnostic Radiologist and gave birth to the first of two children.

What at first appeared to be a tragedy became a love story and a life extra-ordinarily well-lived—raising two children, pursuing highly respected and rewarding careers as physicians in Radiology and Radiation Oncology, along with adventuresome travel.

In “Get Out and Go,” Linda shares the strategies they developed while in the hospital to take control of their lives; the challenges of learning to walk again with fake legs; returning as a family to remote outdoor travel adventures. Linda shows how Acceptance, Adaptation and Innovation can empower us to work through life’s adversities.

“You will laugh with me as I return to the wilderness, butt-walking in the dirt, being carried in a backpack, kayaking and canoeing.”

And most of all, you will be moved by the teamwork and the love and devotion of her amazing husband who proves every day that his legs and arms can take them anywhere and everywhere in the world. Audiences always leave with the feeling that “if she can do it, I can do it.”

Key Take Aways

1. ACCEPT: Don’t waste your energy on “why” and “what if.” Choose to be happy, make those around you happy.
2. ADAPT: Set specific goals for your new life. Develop your “team.” Ignore what you can’t do, figure out what you can do. See the humor in your new life
3. INNOVATE: Learn new ways to do things. Do new things. Don’t give up—things keep changing.