Amy Purdy is a double-amputee who has used her disability to make massive strides in her own accomplishments and in her impact on others. Purdy developed meningococcal meningitis at the age of 19. She was taken to the hospital with symptoms of septic shock. There, she was diagnosed with a less-than-2% chance of survival, then placed on life support, and into an induced coma.
Defying the odds, Purdy lived. She credits her father with pulling through the illness. Her father told her that she needed to accept the amputation of her legs in order to survive. He also gave her one of his own kidneys. “He brought me into this world, and then he kept me here,” Purdy shared in the Twitter video below. “He gave me life twice.”
From tragedy to triumph, watch to see how @AmyPurdyGurl and her dad made #OneBoldChoice. https://t.co/Oi43B2QzXI
— Toyota USA (@Toyota) January 27, 2015
Last year, another Paralympic double-amputee, Jessica Tatiana Long, shared a similar story of gratitude towards her mother for giving her Life.