Happy Ada Lovelace Day – Aimee Mullins An Inspiration For All
For Ada Lovelace Day, I thought Aimee Mullins was well deserving to be highlighted for many reasons.Ada Lovelace Day is the day that bloggers all over the world post about women in science as part of a global day of awareness and appreciation for the (often underreported) role that women play in the sciences.Aimee Mullins is an inspiration not only as a woman but as an incredible human. I personally draw inspiration from those who do not let the sea of life uncontrollably toss them around and instead use the waves to further their journey in this life. Some people take it even further and along the way are forging change for the betterment of others. Aimee is an athlete, actor, model and activist. She’s created dozens of amazing prosthetic legs, each possessing a unique superpower: speed, beauty, an extra 6 inches of height… She never let life’s inequity stop her from walking, running, talking, changing or helping. She is deserving of a superhero title. Aimee doesn’t see herself as disabled, she sees herself as ABLE!
“Pamela Anderson has more prosthetic in her body than I do, nobody calls her disabled.” Aimee Mullins (I love this!)
Aimee Mullins was born without fibular bones, and had both of her legs amputated below the knee when she was an infant. She learned to walk on prosthetics, then to run—competing at the national and international level as a champion sprinter, and setting world records at the 1996 Paralympics in Atlanta. At Georgetown, where she double-majored in history and diplomacy, she became the first double amputee to compete in NCAA Division 1 track and field. After school, Mullins did some modeling—including a legendary runway show for Alexander McQueen—and then turned to acting, appearing as the Leopard Queen in Matthew Barney’s Cremaster Cycle. In 2008 she was the official Ambassador for the Tribeca/ESPN Sports Film Festival. She’s a passionate advocate for a new kind of thinking about prosthetics, and recently mentioned to an interviewer that she’s been looking closely at MIT’s in-development powered robotic ankle, “which I fully plan on having.”
