A Little Girl Who Loves Soccer

Ellie Challis loves soccer. She trains with her team and plays once a week. Her mother says there’s no holding her back when it comes to the sport. However, Ellie isn’t your typical child soccer player.

In July 2005, Ellie was diagnosed with meningitis and almost lost her life. Four days after the diagnosis, her arms and legs became completely black and doctors were left with no choice but to amputate all of her limbs. Her parents feared she would never be able to live a normal life.

But, Ellie defied the odds. In the beginning the prosthetics were painful and she could only wear them for short periods of time. However, in 2009, she became the youngest person to have prosthetic carbon fiber legs. And she’s taking full advantage of them on the field!

Take a look at this video of Ellie in 2009 when she initially received her new carbon fiber prosthetics.

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An Amputee with a Passion for Dance

Like many other 12 year old girls, Pauline Fuller loves to dance. However, she is not your typical 12 year old dancer.  Originally from Russia, Pauline was born with a condition that prevented her legs from forming. But, she hasn’t let her condition prevent her from dancing. Pauline was adopted by American parents and moved to Texas. After, several surgeries, she can now walk and dance with prosthetic legs.

Take a look at this amazing video and see for yourself!

Hometown Hero: Paulina Fuller: MyFoxDFW.com

A ‘Must See’

Have you guys ever heard of Aaron Fotheringham aka one of the coolest people ever??? If you haven’t, you HAVE to watch this video!

Born with Spina Bifida, Aaron has always faced challenges. However, he has never been one to give up easily. At eight years old, Aaron began going to skate parks with his dad and brother to simply watch from behind the fence. This was until his brother suggested he try some tricks on his wheelchair. Let’s just say, the rest is history.

After landing the first ever wheelchair back flip, Aaron became and internet sensation and travels the country showing other kids how to use their wheelchairs in innovative ways.  He’s also a cast member on MTV’s Nitro Circus where he keeps up with the rest of the crew and does some pretty awesome tricks.

Aaron is so good at what he does, I find myself forgetting he’s even in a wheelchair when I watch his videos. Then I remember…. and I’m amazed all over again!

Back in Blog Mode

Let me start off by apologizing for not blogging over the past two weeks. Life got a little busy, but I’m back on schedule and will be blogging regularly again!

I hope you all have been keeping up with JR and his last few performances on Dancing With The Stars. In case you haven’t, I’ll give you a quick update with both the good and the bad.

Let’s start with the bad. JR hurt his ankle during practice this week. The injury resulted in a not so great performance which caused JR and Karina to be in the bottom two. 

Now, onto the good news. The duo made it to the finals!! They will be competing against Ricki Lake with partner Derek Hough and Rob Kardashian with his partner Cheryl Burke. I don’t know about you guys, but I have a good feeling JR might just pull of the win!

Well it was another awesome week for JR! But really, would you expect anything less? This week, the performers danced to Broadway songs and JR and Karina danced a Quickstep to “Hot Honey Rag.” 

Katrina said it was the most difficult performance she had ever done on the show. However, JR made it look like a piece of cake. He even did a cartwheel! All of the judges raved about the performance and the couple received two tens. With a final score of 29, they tied for first with Ricki and Dereck.

Take a look at their performance below…

An Amputee With a Basketball League of His Own

Check out ESPN’s story here.

At the age of 14, Scott Odom had his leg amputated after being diagnosed with cancer. While many thought this basketball and baseball player would never play sports again, Odom was determined to prove people wrong and played both sports in high school. He aspired to play in the NBA after graduation. However, this goal did not seem possible to others.

Rather than quitting, Odom simply started his own league, Amp1. He founded the league to inspire others not to give up on sports. Amp1 is the only organized team of amputees in the U.S. that plays stand-up basketball rather than wheelchair.

This team is really good! Odom, in particular, specializes in 3 point shots. He explains that able bodied players don’t take their team seriously in the beginning of a game. However, when Amp1 shows their skills, it turns into a regular game of basketball in which both teams actually compete. This year, the team launched a national tour and has developed a solid fan base.   

Take a look at the team in action….

Oops he did it again…

JR managed to pull of yet another awesome performance! The contestants travelled back in time to the decade of big hair and leg warmers….the 80’s. JR danced a samba to Gloria Estefan’s “Conga.”  As usual, the crowd loved him and, this week, all of the judges agreed he did an amazing job. He received a well deserved 28 points for the performance.  We are so happy this burn survivor is doing such a great job and continues to progress week after week!


Here’s his Samba performance…..