#220 Less leg more heart with Tina Hurley

Tina is a former gymnast, Division 1 competition cheerleader, exercise physiologist and nationally certified physician assistant who became an amputee in 2016.   She lost her leg after 10 surgeries failed to restore blood flow to her leg from a rare vascular condition called Popliteal Artery Entrapment Syndrome.  She needed two revision amputations the following year due to wound healing challenges from impaired blood flow.    In 2018, just a few months from the last of 3 amputations, she made a name for herself in the adaptive community winning 2nd place at the internationally attended CrossFit Competition in Miami called "Wodapalooza," training with the US Paralympic Bobsled team in Europe, training with the US cycling program in Colorado Springs, attending the Adaptive Training Foundation in Texas and winning the CrossFit Adaptive Games in Canada.    She began teaching adaptive fitness and became a disability advocate as well as a mentor for those with permanent physical impairments.   In 2018, Tina founded the 501(c) charity Less Leg More Heart to further support the disabled community using her unique knowledge as a both a medical professional and a patient, identifying areas of need in this special population and executing strategic partnerships with companies of similar philanthropic core values.    This nonprofit provides peer mentorship, medical advocacy, funding for holistic approaches to care and funding for home services needed during transition.  They engage local communities and businesses to rally alongside families with disabilities in distress, to create stabilized socioeconomic circumstances and spread the joy of giving with the core belief that, "We rise by lifting others up."   In the episode we spoke about:   - What caused PAED?   - Would your background in gymnastics and cheerleading have made that condition worse?   - Why does cheerleading get misunderstood?   - What was the transition like going from gymnastics to cheerleading to onto CrossFit?   - Why did you have to go into mental preservation to come out the other side?   - Do you think that because you come from an athletic background you can be more stubborn then most?   If you had the opportunity to sit down with any athlete dead or alive, who would that be and why?    Amongst others You can learn more about Tina via the website lesslegmoreheart.com and connect with her on Instagram. You can connect with The Non-Profit Charity: Less Leg More Heart on Facebook, Instagram, Linkedin and Youtube. For more information about The Mindset Athlete by connect with us on Facebook @mindsetgamepodcast For more information about James Roberts (the host of the podcast), visit fitamputee.co.uk and connect with him on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram