Life and Limb

Courtney Gilmour is an award-winning stand-up comedian, television writer, and finalist on Canada’s Got Talent. She is one of Canada's most unique voices and sought-after comedy talents, named by NOW Magazine as “one of the top 10 stage artists to watch.” Courtney's victory at the 2017 Just For Laughs Homegrown competition was the first by a female comic in the 19-year-history of the event. Her first album - “Let Me Hold Your Baby” – was JUNO-nominated, and she’s just released her new “Wonder Woman" album – which is a really funny take on life as a triple limb amputee when it comes to public perceptions that come with her unique disability.

“You don’t have to conquer the world; you just have to conquer your world,” says Andrew Haley. His is a story of a Halifax kid with a 35 percent chance of survival becoming one of Canada’s most accomplished high-performance athletes. Andrew shares what motivated him from his cancer diagnosis through the loss of a leg above the knee, and onward toward four Paralympic Games and five trips to the Paralympic podium as a medal-winning para swimmer.

A musician, writer, broadcaster, Christa Couture is proudly Indigenous and queer and a lower extremity amputee since childhood. She loves to share stories that intersect with disability, and is now the host of Season 5 of the AMI travel docu-series “Postcards from...” featuring a different Canadian city each episode. Her career's work has explored experiences of loss, which include several unimaginable ones in her own life.

A skydiver, surfer, rock-climber, snowboarder – Canada’s first Paralympic gold medalist in the sport in fact – a sailor and a contestant on The Amazing Race Canada reality show, the sky is not the limit for British Columbia’s Tyler Turner. The bilateral below-knee amputee, from a skydiving injury, lives by the motto: “It’s not about where you started or your end result. It’s the steps you take in between.”

Megan Williamson is the head fitness coach at Ocean Rehab and Fitness in Vancouver. She’s also the head instructor for the North American Council of Inclusive Fitness and co-author of a resource called Breaking Barriers: Fundamentals of Training Clients with Physical Disabilities. She’s all about bridging the gap between rehab and fitness, making exercise inclusive for everyone no matter what. Megan shares strategies for achieving better health for anyone living with limb loss or limb difference.

Alvin Law says “attitude” is so much more than an overused word, and shares his remarkable story on Life and Limb, thrive magazine’s podcast. It’s a story of life without arms that he’s told to over two million people on five continents at over 7,500 events. Abandoned by his birth family at just five days old, Alvin has spent his life doing things that he wasn’t supposed to do. That sounds rebellious, and it is in his own way. His rebellion involved things like playing trombone and driving a car – with his feet. "I refused to let other people’s labels and limitations hold me back," he says. Today, he's a renowned Certified Speaking Professional, and the best-selling author of Alvin’s Laws of Life… 5 Steps to Successfully Overcome Anything! 

Prosthetics is an intriguing profession. It’s science. It’s art. And it’s social science in terms of relationships that are cultivated with patients or clients who, by way of life’s circumstance, may be hard to please at times. With over 35 years of experience with patient-prosthetist relationships, certified prosthetist Marty Robison provides some perspective on these "partnerships."

Jakob Kepka, a military veteran and amputee, is prepared for all of the risks associated with his upcoming "Hoperaising Expedition", a 900-kilometre bike ride from Krakow, Poland, to Kyiv, Ukraine, fearing Ukrainian drivers more than the Russians, he says. Jakob shares his personal motivation to pedal through the war-torn terrain as a beacon of hope for those with amputations, and similar physical and psychological challenges that he faced after the loss of his leg, to raise money to support Ukrainian amputees.

Host Jeff Tiessen chats with Canadian Paralympian Kevin Rempel. Kevin fought for years to rebuild his physical and mental health. Not only did he learn to walk again after a motocross accident that resulted in an incomplete spinal cord injury, but he has walked across countless stages sharing his story and encouraging others. A member of Canada’s Paralympic Sledge Hockey Team, Kevin speaks candidly about his journey back from traumatic injury, and his strategies to combat his struggles. Plenty of practical “get-started” advice to adopt to become a hero in our own stories.

In this first episode of Life and Limb, host Jeff Tiessen chats with Edmonton's Alexis Hillyard. A teacher by profession, Alexis is a motivator, influencer and a YouTube content creator. She’s incredibly passionate about being her authentic disabled, queer self. She’s a rock climber, musician, mom of two, chef and much more, and she can be unapologetically silly. Born without her left hand, Alexis knows all about limb difference, and has navigated that on her own terms since she was a child. Many know her from Stump Kitchen, her YouTube show (100 million+ views) that celebrates the unique ways we move through the world. She shares more on that, and the joy she finds in being genuine, and about her love for play.   Watch on YouTube —   Links mentioned in this episode: StumpKitchen.com