Mobility & Mountains: Finding Joy in the Moment
“What brings you joy?”
This question sat with me while I was in the hospital receiving chemotherapy treatments for the second time in my life. At that moment, there was not much I could do other than try to survive. And yet, I somehow found myself deeply present and at peace. Everything felt pure and unencumbered. All the noise of life had been stripped away and what was left was surrender.
Enjoying a cup of coffee at home with my family felt like pure euphoria. Laying in the hospital courtyard under the speckled shade of the trees with my dad was total bliss.
As a two-time childhood cancer survivor and amputee, life has given me ample opportunity to think about its meaning – something I deeply appreciate and find a nuisance at times. The first time I was diagnosed with cancer, I was 11 years old. The second time, I was 18 years old. Over the span of 13 years until I reached the end of remission, I endured surgeries, treatments, and complicated diagnoses.
Both bouts with cancer brought me to terms with my own mortality and the reality that we have zero control of what happens to us in this life. But we can always control how we respond.
Losing my right leg below my knee at 18 years old to bone cancer left me wondering what my future would look like. I was an active kid who loved the outdoors and I was worried that having a disability might shrink my world. Turns out, it expanded it.
“What brings you joy?”
This question came up again last year while I was in Ecuador on my way to climb Cotopaxi, a 19,347 ft volcano in Ecuador, with a bunch of amputees. I was climbing for the Range of Motion Project(Opens in a new window), a nonprofit that provides high quality prosthetic and mobility care for amputees in need.
I had somehow been selected for the 2025 Climbing for ROMP Team, which is their annual fundraiser event involving a team of amputees summiting some of the largest volcanoes in the world to demonstrate what is possible when amputees have access to the appropriate mobility technology they need to not only live, but to thrive.
Our team started climbing around midnight and summited around 6AM while the sun was still rising. We climbed throughout the night to reach the summit, an experience I will never forget.
As we reached the top of the volcano, I learned that I was a capable mountaineer – something I had never anticipated experiencing, and highly doubt I would have done with two meat feet.
In that moment, I felt immense joy and gratitude. Everything slowed down on the mountain. I was surrounded by a team of people who I had grown to care deeply about and I felt fully alive. Fully present.
Facing a life threatening illness or disease has a similar effect – it forces you to slow down, be present, to let go of things that you cannot control, and lean into the unknown.
Surviving cancer twice taught me that I was capable of hard things. Summiting Cotopaxi with a bunch of amputees taught me that I was capable of enjoying hard things. There is something incredibly beautiful about slogging up a mountain for 6 hours surrounded by people who you care about and who share a similar mission.
At one point the mountain in front of me was surviving cancer, then it was receiving my first prosthetic and relearning how to walk. And then it was being brave enough to join an adaptive sports program, where I met other people with disabilities and learned that I was not alone.
Becoming an amputee and joining the adaptive sports community has been one of the greatest opportunities in my life to experience the joy that comes from engaging in community and connecting with those around me in the outdoors. It has forced me to let go of limiting beliefs and to embrace what life is, not what I thought it would be. And let me tell you, this life is beautiful and so much fun.
Joining the Range of Motion Project, fundraising, and becoming a mountaineer has further pushed the narrative of what I deemed possible for myself and has shown me that there is truly no limit to what I can accomplish.
With the right access to mobility technology and given the opportunity, I learned I could climb literal summits and reach impressive heights.
This year, I am headed back down to Ecuador with the 2026 Climbing for ROMP Team as a Team Captain, climbing and fundraising alongside my fellow teammates to ensure amputees have access to the technology they need to pursue whatever mountain may lie ahead in their lives.
Because everyone’s mountain is different – for some, it is taking those first steps back towards independence while for others it might be the courage to try a new sport or change careers. Whatever mountain lies ahead, everyone should have the right to climb it.
All of this is possible because of our incredible sponsors, such as Osprey (who I have worn for a very long time) and the communities that have rallied behind this mission of mobility.
My life has been made richer by the relationships I have built surrounding mobility and being present in the outdoors – whether that was from the comfort of the hospital courtyard or the top of Cotopaxi.
So, the next time you go out for an adventure, I challenge you to ask yourself, “what brings you joy?” and lean into the answer.
If you are interested in supporting those who are still waiting for the opportunity to get access to their mobility, independence and freedom, please consider donating to the 2026 Climbing for ROMP.