It’s been an honor to work with some incredibly inspiring people with the work that we do at Fotolanthropy. This Christmas season, I had the opportunity to meet Memphis Lafferty, and he is someone I will never forget. This courageous 10 year old was diagnosed with Bacterial Meningitis on May 6, 2006 at only six months old. As the result of his illness, Memphis had both arms and legs amputated and became a quadruple amputee. When I sat down next to him to introduce myself he said, “Hi, my name is Memphis. When I grow up I want to be the strongest, but I don’t know if I will ever be.” He said this with grit, and I instantly knew this is one of the strongest kids that I will ever meet.
KiddNation helped to setup a time for Memphis to meet the other most inspiring quadruple amputee I know, SSG Travis Mills. Our Fotolanthropy team was introduced to Travis and his family in 2012, and we created a feature documentary titled Travis: A Soldier’s Story in honor of Travis’s courageous story. It was incredible to watch Memphis and Travis together. Here are two unique guys that can understand one another more than anyone ever will. They are both full of will power and determination. They both know they have two choices – 1) to quit or 2) to never give up. It brought tears to my eyes to see Memphis look up to Travis and find hope knowing that he could have a great life and will be able to do the things Travis can one day. When Travis met Memphis, he immediately took off his prosthetics and sat on the ground with him. He then let Memphis try out his prosthetic arm to see how it works. It was priceless to watch Memphis bring the arm to life.
This picture below was my favorite moment from the day. This photo captured a moment in time when David Vobora, Founder of Adaptive Training Foundation, who changed his life to start an adaptive training center, is bringing hope to Memphis by teaching him how to walk on his own with a SoloStep. Everyone watching was cheering on Memphis, and I love the look of pure joy and fulfillment on David’s face.
Thank you Memphis for sharing your story with us and for inspiring so many around you! We look forward to following your journey and seeing the big things that you will do in your life.
Story and photos by Fotolanthropy Founder Katie Norris
His new Christmas wish is to get an arm of his own. Consider making his dream come true by making a donation at: http://www.memphislynnlafferty.com/
Learn more about Travis Mills by visiting: www.travismills.org
Purchase a copy of Travis: A Soldier’s Story: www.travisthemovie.com
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