Do you feel like you belong?

That’s the question I want to start with today. Because if you’re an amputee, or walking alongside someone who is, you’ve probably felt that quiet, unsettling shift… that moment where life no longer feels like it fits the way it used to.

Welcome back to BAWarrior Podcast, a space for resilience, healing, and living life amplified exactly as you are. I’m your host, Angie Heuser, and I’m walking this journey right alongside you as an above-knee amputee.

This past week, I did something playful… but it turned into something deeply meaningful.

I was outside, barefoot in the Arizona warmth, and I had my prosthetic off because I was using my running blade. And for whatever reason, I grabbed a marker and wrote the name “Andy” on the bottom of my prosthetic foot.

If you’re a Toy Story fan, you already know the reference. Andy writes his name on the bottom of Woody’s boot, and later Buzz’s foot, as a symbol of belonging. It means those toys have a place. They matter. They are part of something bigger.

 

 

And as soon as I wrote it… it hit me.

Isn’t that exactly what we’re all searching for after limb loss?

Because here’s the truth, amputation doesn’t just change your body. It changes your identity. It changes how you see yourself, how you move through the world, and how the world sometimes responds to you.

For me, seven years ago when I chose to amputate, it felt like I was on a train that suddenly switched tracks without warning. I wasn’t going where I thought I would anymore. And the first real question became:

Who am I now?

Because I didn’t feel like I belonged in my old life the same way. Yes, I was still a wife, a mom, an athlete, but I also stood out in ways I never had before. From wearing gym shoes everywhere because of my prosthetic limitations, to navigating how people perceived me, to questioning where I fit socially… it shook my confidence and my identity.

And what I’ve learned through talking to so many amputees is this:

The surgery isn’t the hardest part.

Learning to walk again isn’t even the hardest part.

The hardest part… is figuring out where you belong now.

That’s the piece no one really prepares you for.

And that’s where this idea of Andy’s name became so powerful to me.

 

 

Because in Toy Story, those toys aren’t afraid of being broken, they’re afraid of being forgotten. Of not having a place. Of not belonging anymore.

And isn’t that what we feel sometimes too?

But here’s the shift. Here’s where the warrior mindset comes in.

Instead of asking, “Why did this happen to me?”

I started asking, “What can I do with this?”

That mindset changed everything.

I began to see this journey not as an ending, but as a reinvention. I set goals. I pushed myself. I proved, to myself first, that I was still capable of living a full, meaningful life. And in that process, something bigger started to unfold.

This podcast was born.

Then the women’s amputee chat group.

Then stepping into research, working with incredible teams at MIT and Harvard, participating in studies, surgeries, and innovations to help move our community forward.

 

My Community, My friends who always have my back!

 

I found purpose.

And I realized something important:

Belonging doesn’t come from going back to who you were.

It comes from building who you are now.

Our adversity creates our strength.

Our identity evolves.

Our scars tell our stories.

And our community creates our belonging.

That’s why community matters so deeply.

Because sometimes, you won’t find belonging in the same places you used to. And that’s okay. We outgrow spaces. People come and go. Life shifts.

But there is a place for you.

Your new “toy box,” if you will.

A place where people understand you. Support you. See you, not in spite of your journey, but because of it.

That’s why I created the women’s chats. Because I saw how many women were struggling with identity, friendships, relationships, confidence… all of it. And they needed a space where they could just be real.

Because you don’t have to do this alone.

 

 

So here’s what I want you to do this week, your call to action.

I want you to mark yourself.

Not necessarily with a tattoo—but with something meaningful.

A word.

A symbol.

Your name.

A reminder.

Put it somewhere you’ll see it every day—your mirror, your prosthetic, your journal, your car.

Something that tells you:

I belong.

I have purpose.

I matter.

For me, it was “Andy.” It made me smile. It brought me back to special, warm memories with my kids. It gave me a sense of lightness and meaning all at once.

But yours can be whatever speaks to you.

Because on the hard days, and they will come, you need something to ground you. Something to remind you that even though life looks different…

You are still part of this story.

You are not forgotten.

You are not alone.

You are not without purpose.

You are evolving.

You are growing.

You are becoming.

So find your new community.

Find your purpose.

And most importantly…

Mark yourself in a way that reminds you—you still belong.

You are warriors.

You are strong.

And I am so proud of how far you’ve come—and where you’re going.

Until next time…

Be healthy,

Be happy,

Be YOU!!!