LIFE CHANGING NEWS AT 5:29 am
Februray 12, 2009

When Teresa Torrey and her husband traded the cold New York winter for the warm Texas climate, she had no idea she would also be trading life, as she knew it for something very different. By the time she arrived in Texas, Teresa noticed that her foot was in pain and was becoming increasingly blue black. She was rushed to the Hospital where doctors thought she had circulatory problems, and was admitted for 2 weeks. After Teresa’s limb got progressively worse she was sent to another medical facility, UTMB in Galveston, where she was put on Heparin, a blood thinner and diagnosed with peripheral artery disease.

Due to this disease, Teresa was plagued by the frequent threat of blood clots and underwent 6 surgeries in two years to remove them. She sighs as she remembers, “It was a constant fear, wondering whether a clot would reach my heart or lungs one day.” Then in February of 2008, Teresa made one of the most difficult decisions of her life. She opted to have her leg amputated. "To me it was a choice between living and dieing" she says, "I’d rather live with one leg than die with both".

Teresa describes her trepidation on the morning of her amputation, “Even though I had been through so many surgeries, this was different.” When she awoke and saw a bandaged stump where her foot had once been, she was moved to tears but was determined to go on. “I’m a fighter…life must go on”. It was this said tenacity that made Teresa’s recovery a swift one. Within 4 days she was out of the hospital and using a walker to get around. It was a frightening time and she still affectionately expresses her gratitude to her husband Robert and son, Robert Jr. who both supported her through this ordeal.

Robert, who works with the school bus program for BISD, was up early for work, as is his habit. On the news at 5:29 that morning, he saw a story about an organization named Limbs of Love. He immediately called Teresa and explained that this organization helps people who are without insurance or finances to afford a prosthesis. Even though BISD had supported Teresa by graciously providing a walker and chair, she had no insurance or the finances necessary to afford an artificial limb. Almost afraid to hope, she wrote a letter to Limbs of Love. “I was so amazed when they called me back!” she remembers with excitement and from that moment Teresa had a renewed vigor for life.

"I love the people at Limbs of Love, from the receptionist to the prosthetist, they are so kind”, Teresa says with conviction. She describes prosthetist Rebecca Guajardo as “one of the most patient people I’ve met”. Rebecca custom fit Teresa for a new prosthesis and guided her through every step of the process. She remembers feeling nervous and how Rebecca would “just smile, explain everything and calm me down".

This past week, Teresa tried her brand new leg and laughs as she describes her joy. She says, “I was determined to walk out of there with my new leg on and I did!” The new hope that Limbs of Love has brought to Teresa reaches further than her ability to walk on her own. She is excited to be able to bowl again and retrieve her own bowling ball. Perhaps the thing that affects her most is the fact that her new leg brings her one step closer to her grandchildren Ashton & Allen. In a custody battle, Teresa’s ability to care for the young children was under question because she had only one leg, and the courts argued that she would not be able to keep up. "I have two legs again” she exclaims, “thanks to Limbs of Love I have a better chance of having my grandchildren safe at home".

"Limbs of Love is the most wonderful organization in the world", Teresa says with conviction. "Who knew that one ordinary morning at 5:29 the news would totally change my life!"