Earlier this year, I connected with many of my fellow amputees in Washington, D.C. for the Amputee Coalition Hill Days. I was inspired by their stories and realized that the challenges I face as an amputee are shared by countless others.
When I received an invitation to speak at the Amputee Coalition 2017 National Conference in Louisville, Kentucky, I could not turn it down. The conference, which takes place August 3-5, 2017, will bring hundreds amputees, medical professionals and exhibitors together under one roof.
The diverse range of programming will provide information to amputees of all kinds and in all stages of healing. Members of the limb loss community will share personal stories, while expert doctors, therapists and prosthetists reveal the latest technologies and treatments to improve life with an amputation.
Perhaps most important will be the opportunities for interaction between conference attendees. Knowing only a few triple amputees like me, I look forward to connecting with many more. And I especially look forward to learning about the challenges faced by my peers in the limb loss community.
I will be speaking on the opening day of the conference about—you guessed it—accessible travel! My focus won’t be limited to wheelchair users, though, as the majority of conference attendees use some form of prosthetic device. Even though I’m not a user of prostheses myself, I’ve done a lot of research to prepare for this conference and my travel session. The principles of accessibility for wheelchair users also offer many benefits to people with other forms of mobility impairment.
To learn more about the conference and the other sessions throughout the weekend, see the preliminary program. If you haven’t registered to attend the conference, you can learn about pricing and other logistics by clicking here.
I can barely contain my excitement and look forward to meeting WheelchairTravel.org readers—both new and old—at the conference next month. See you in Louisville!
