GRAND RAPIDS, Mich.-- Patients at Mary Free Bed got quite the surprise Wednesday in the form of a Paralympic medalist and Dancing With The Stars finalist.
Amy Purdy won a bronze medal for snowboarding, proving there's nothing that can keep someone from achieving their dreams.
"Part of me wants to say that I never in a million years would imagine that I would be where I'm at today," Purdy said. "Especially when I was laying in the hospital after losing both my legs."
At just 19 years old, with a love for snowboarding and a desire to travel the world, Purdy got bacterial meningitis. The illness claimed both her legs.
While the loss would mean daily changes and struggles, Purdy said she never lost her ambition, but rather gained an imagination.
"I always have to believe that I had it in me to live my life the way I wanted to live my life," Purdy said. "I always felt that fire. I just didn't know how to do it."
As time passed, Purdy's accomplishments grew. While she might be famous for her television appearances, she also gives back. She's co-founder of Adaptive Action Sports, which is a non-profit organization where other people with disabilities get training to help them achieve their goals. She's also a motivational speaker.
Wednesday afternoon, she stopped by Mary Free Bed in Grand Rapids and visited with patients.
"It brought me back to when I was in rehab and I saw steps and thought, oh I remember those steps--I remember what it was like taking a step up a stair and how hard that was," Purdy said.
Pam Buschly, a former patient at the hospital, lost her hands and feet after getting a rare infection following a routine surgery. While recovering, she said a nurse encouraged her to watch Dancing With the Stars.
"She said, 'you have to watch it. There's this woman named Amy who's a bilateral amputee and she's so inspiring and I think it will just lift you up,'" Buschly said. "I watched it, my friends watched it, my family watched it--all the way through my hospitalization at Mary Free Bed, which was four months. It was just so exciting every week to see her positive attitude and her incredible determination."
Buschly met Purdy at a Gala for the hospital on Wednesday night. Buschly said her first goal is to be able to pick up a glass.
"I believe so strongly in the possibilities," Purdy said. "You just have to really put in the hard work to figure them out. I've been grateful to have the platform to be able to do that."
