Life's New Normal Podcast With Host Long Jump Silver Medalist John Register

Today I have the distinct pleasure of interview my colleague and friend Mona Patel for the second time. She just found out she is has made the top ten finalists in CNN's prestigious Heroes Award show, which will air on the same channel on December 17th at 6:00pm. On a spring day in 1990, Mona Patel was walking to class at Cal Poly University when a drunken driver slammed into her. She was 17. Weeks later, when Patel got out of the ICU, she underwent her first amputation. It was the start of seven years' worth of surgeries in attempts to salvage the rest of her leg. But along the way, as Patel continued to struggle physically with her disability, she also struggled to find a support group for amputees. In 1997, with the prospect of another amputation, Patel made a promise. "I vowed that once I got back on my feet, I would start one," she said. Today, Patel's nonprofit, the San Antonio Amputee Foundation, aims to help amputees rebuild their lives. The group offers peer support, education and recreation opp