A Whole New World

In the past year of my life I have gone through major changes, one of the biggest ones was deciding to make a career change.  Instead of continuing on in the world of pediatric oncology, I decided it was worth going back to school to become a Certified Prosthetist Orthotist.  I was introduced to this world a few years ago and was relentlessly immersed in it to the point that I had no choice but to fall in love - with the world and the relentless one :)

And what a world to fall in love with.  Prosthetics is not something that most people even consider, not in their every day lives, not as a career path, not as something they even really know exists beyond seeing the first ever amputee Olympian this past month in London.  I have been blessed to have multiple experiences and opportunities in the field and have gotten a chance to really become quite passionate about the future I have with prosthetics.

I am currently in school at Cal State Dominguez Hills getting all of my certifications.  I have made major life changes - moving from Texas to California, leaving behind my comfort zone and my friends and family in pursuit of something that I know is going to be a new level of greatness for me.  I think dialoging this journey is going to be important for me and is a good way to stay grounded and remind me of the reasons why I got into this field.  It is so easy to get bogged down in life and in school and to be overwhelmed, but I want to be a prosthetist because I want to change people's lives.  I want to give someone a better quality of life and I want to always remember that is why I am going to do what I do.  Not for the money, not for the notoriety, but to be an impact on even one amputee's life.  I think when the going gets tough, it is important to reflect on the why of what we are doing rather than all of the nuances that might come with the hows.