A THOUSAND MILES: May 2020

My road came to an unexpected halt on November 9, 2010.

I was bicycling to work that morning when a garbage truck drove into a Philadelphia bike lane. I was in that bike lane.

Trauma surgeons saved my life, but they had to amputate my left leg above the knee. The accident changed my body and health forever.

The journey of a thousand miles begins with one step.

For more than a decade, that journey has become my way of moving through the world.

I am a person with ability and disability. I travel in the space between. These are my postcards.

Friday, May 29, 2020

Anywhere But Here

Mile Marker 8500:

Do you wish you were anywhere but here?

I do.

I wish I could avoid the runners who breathe down my neck as they pass me on the sidewalk. I wish I could see my feet, obscured by the shape of my mask, as I step off the curb. I wish my prosthetic leg fit better, not loose and slippery from too much time sitting at home.