Amy M. Purdy was born on November 7, 1979. At age 19, Amy Purdy contracted Neisseria meningitis, a form of bacterial meningitis. The disease affected her circulatory system when the infection led to septic shock; both of her legs had to be amputated below the knee, she lost both kidneys, and her spleen had to be removed. Sepsis is when an infection (any infection) causes an inflammatory response, leading to organ failure or clinical shock, and is a common cause of death. In Purdy’s case, she went into septic shock in less than 24 hours of getting sick. Doctors gave Purdy only a 2% chance to survive since her sepsis was so advanced. Two years later, she received a kidney transplant from her father.
AND SHE MADE IT!
Purdy began snowboarding seven months after she received her leg prosthetics. About a year after her legs were amputated, she finished third in a snowboarding competition at Mammoth Mountain. Subsequently, she received a grant from the Challenged Athletes Foundation (CAF), a non-profit organization. Through this grant, she was able to compete in several snowboarding competitions in the U.S.
In 2003, Purdy was recruited by the CAF as spokesperson, and she moved to San Diego to be closer to the CAF headquarters. In San Diego, she continued her pre-amputee profession as a massage therapist. She also became involved in the modeling and acting industry. In February 2003, she played a model in a Madonna music video.Later in 2003, Purdy started working for Freedom Innovations, a prosthetic feet manufacturer, as its “Amputee Advocate”.
She has gone on to co-found her own non-profit organization, Adaptive Action Sports, a chapter of Disabled Sports USA for individuals with physical disabilities who want to get involved in action sports (snowboarding, skateboarding, surfing) or art and music.
In 2005, Purdy made her film debut in What’s Bugging Seth, a movie by Eli Steele. In May 2011, Amy was also featured in a well-regarded TED video entitled “Living Beyond Limits.” In 2014 she was named one of ESPNW’s Impact 25
Today, Amy Purdy is an actress, model, world-class snowboarder and 2014 Paralympic bronze medalist, co-founder of Adaptive Action Sports, professional motivational speaker, clothing designer and author!
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