SHE WAS BORN THIS WAY
Katy Sullivan is an actor,an athlete,a motivational speaker and a person who refuses to accept the words 'no' or ' I can't'.
She was born without the lower half of her legs and has worn prosthetic legs all her life.She grew up in Alabama,USA and had an active childhood.She liked to be active and kept up with her siblings at the gym and the swimming pool.She feels lucky because her family treated her in just the same way as her other siblings.
When Katy was a child,she didn't like to put her prosthetic legs on because she was much faster without them.Other children would ask,'What happened to you?' Katy favourite thing to say was 'Shark attack!' She enjoyed making up stories because she thought it was boring to say,'I've been like this all my life.'
When a person is born without legs,there are plenty of things that are difficult or even impossible to do.But Katy believed she could chieve anything. So she chose two occupations that are difficult,even with both of legs.When she was a teenager,she saw a production of 'Charlie and the Chocolate Factory'. One of the actors was Katy's classmate at schol.Before the play was over,Katy had made her mind up to be an actor.
She did a degree in theatre and then moved to Los Angeles,where she has played roles in theatre,television and film. She has a positive outlook on life.She thinks that if you believe you can do something,you should go for it,and you shouldn't let anyone tell you that you can't do it. So when Katy's prosthetist asked her if she'd like to try running,she said 'yes'. She was twenty-five and she had never run before,but as an actor,she liked to stay in shape.She thought running would be a good way to do that.She was given a pair of running legs and she set out on a new chapter of her life.
Katy was the first person in the world with prosthetic legs to take up running as a competetive sport.In 2007 she was chosen for the US Paralympic team,but during training she fell over and missed the chance to compete in the 2008 Beijing Paralympic Games.She was devasted and gave up running for two years.But then she took it up again and qualifiedfor the final of the 100 metres in the 2012 London Paralympics.She didn't win,but she did beat her personal best time and set a new American record.She said that it was one of the most amazing moments of her life.
Katy's family,friends and fans look up to her as an example of someone who was overcome her disability and fulfilled her ambitions.