Three-time Paralympian medalist, Denver resident, bestselling author, and motivational speaker Amy Purdy shared her inspirational story during the closing session of the 2025 ULI Spring Meeting.
At 19, Purdy had both her legs partially amputated due to a bacterial meningitis infection and was near death. Purdy shared that doctors said she had only a 2 percent chance of surviving. Her spleen was removed, and eventually she would need a kidney transplant.
Using prostheses, Purdy went on to compete internationally as a snowboarder. She also appeared on network television’s Dancing with the Stars.
Purdy said that the first step in her recovery was to focus on what she could do instead of what she couldn’t do, recognizing the advantages in addition to the adversity.
“I can be almost any height I want,” Purdy said. “My feet don’t get cold when I snowboard . . . . I can change the size of my shoe to fit whatever shoe is on the sales rack!”
Purdy quickly realized that the kind of prostheses necessary for her to resume snowboarding would be expensive and not covered by health insurance.
“We always have the choice [of] whether challenges are going to break us down or build us up,” Purdy said. “It’s about accepting what is and leaning into the present moment.”
Purdy and her husband founded a 501(c)(3) nonprofit called Adaptive Action Sports. Based in Colorado, the nonprofit helps young adults and wounded veterans participate in action sports such as skateboarding and snowboarding. As part of the nonprofit’s mission, she lobbied for ESPN to include adaptive sports in the televised Summer and Winter X Games.
“It takes courage to step outside of your comfort zone,” Purdy said. She said that the opportunity to perform on Dancing with the Stars was right after her first Paralympics. Her partner, Derek Hough, had to fly to Russia to train with her, and she had only three half days to prepare for the first dance. She also had challenges with her prostheses to accommodate the dance moves needed. One of the prostheses she eventually used was actually designed for swimming, and another dance required using “blades” designed for running.
“There was a time I thought my life was over,” Purdy said. “But it was really just beginning.”
