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

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

A team of 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.

These words started me on the journey to walk again. Over time, they became a way of life.

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

Wednesday, December 26, 2018

Peace and Podcasts


Mile Marker 6995:

Flashback... to a flash drive.
Christmas 2010.

A present arrives in my room, Room 343, at Magee Rehabilitation Hospital.

Tuesday, December 18, 2018

Note to Self

Mile Marker 6975:

Everything will be all right in the end.  
If it's not all right, it is not yet the end.

--Simit Patel, Hotel Manager,
 The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel



I'd like to write a letter to that girl in the wheelchair.  

Saturday, November 10, 2018

Being the Change

Mile Marker 6825:

Really November?  It's been 8 years.  How about cutting me a break?

Um, that's a "No."

As in NOvember... 

Tuesday, October 23, 2018

Over, Under, and the Invisible Man

Mile Marker 6790:

When my alarm goes off, I'm knee-deep in a bookstore.

It's called Barnes and Noble, but it looks more like Head House Books.  I'm standing by the door, glancing back at the long checkout line, feeling hurried, and debating about whether to buy a rust-colored Asian tea set for my friend Jen.

Just then, I notice a man by the door.  He's got only one leg, and it's wearing a white wingtip dress shoe.  He's on crutches, the metal kind.  And one more thing.  He's invisible.

Saturday, October 20, 2018

My Favorite Miles - Austria 2018


50 miles in Austria!  

So much fun.  So many adventures.  And OMG, the climbing!

The hills are so alive, it's tough to pare them down.  And apologies to the von Trapp family, but I'm gonna sing it out loud -- 

These are a few of my favorite miles...

Saturday, September 8, 2018

Follow Me to Austria!


Mile Marker 6625:

Ready for take-off...

It sounds surreal when I say I'll be competing for Team USA in the Paraclimbing World Championships, but it's happening!!

Here's some info if you want to play along...

Thursday, August 23, 2018

Thanks JT!

Mile Marker 6575:

You never know when you'll meet (or need!) an emergency physician.

I met Angela at Jefferson's Trauma Survivor Cycle-A-Thon last spring.  She'd just become Chief Resident in Emergency Medicine at Jefferson Torresdale Hospital, a Level 2 Trauma Center in northeast Philadelphia.

When we started pedaling, we didn't know much about each other, but as we rode...