By BETHANY SHERROW
Features Editor

(WARRENSBURG, Mo., digitalBURG) — Alex Wallace’s life changed forever on Dec. 29, 2015, when she had surgery to amputate her right leg.

Wallace said she was born with a birth defect that caused her leg to be deformed from the knee down, as well as her foot.

“When I was born, they tried to convince my parents to (amputate) it because they said it would be the best for me,” Wallace said. “But my parents wanted it to be my decision.”

Now, 18 years later, Wallace made a decision.

“I didn’t want to have my leg amputated,” she said. “I tried to avoid it my whole life. It got to the point where I really couldn’t walk anymore. I could barely walk down the hallway without being in tears. So, I just realized that it’s no way to live, I had to do something.”

She said her decision was made because she deserves happiness.

“I just want to be able to walk down the street without being in pain,” Wallace said. “I want to be able to run. I want to wear heels. Before, my foot was so deformed that the only shoes that would fit were converse. So, I’m ready to go shoe shopping. They have prosthetic legs where you can wear high heels and I can wear sandals that I could never wear before. I’m ready to branch out and see what else is out there. I was like living in this box.”

She also has plans to run a 5K race this summer in Oklahoma.

“There is a special thing called the Endeavor Games and it’s for amputees,” she said. “There is a track meet and a 5K and just a whole bunch of fun sports. So, I’m going to be kicking butt. My motivation is this picture in my head. I can just see myself run for the first time. I’m going to get there.”

Wallace has many goals that she says keep her going, but for now, she’s struggling to learn how to walk with her new leg.

“You actually really do have to learn how to walk again,” she said. “I tell people to imagine walking without being able to feel your leg.”

Wallace said walking across campus and to class can take up to an hour, and that she often struggles with falls, especially in winter weather. However, she survives by encouraging herself, and with lots of humor.

“Sometimes I’ll be walking to class and I’ll just say, ‘Alex, you can do hard things, just keep going!’” Wallace said.

When she does have a fall, Wallace said she always gets up.

“Last night, I broke down and I was crying,” she said. “I’m just so worn out. But, I realized I’m not going to get any closer to that goal by sitting here and crying. So, I got my butt up, I put on my leg and I went and walked up and down the hallway for three hours. That’s the only way I’m going to get there. I can’t just complain about it and cry.”

Wallace isn’t alone though. She surrounds herself with supportive friends and even a mentor, Tanya. Tanya doesn’t have either of her legs, but she is a body builder, marathoner and model.

“She keeps me going, definitely,” Wallace said. “She texts me every day and she is like, ‘Girl, you can do hard things, keep your head up you can do it, I’m here for you.’ It’s cool, because I’m a mentor for so many people, but I need one too. So they turn to me and I turn to her.”’

While Wallace is currently an elementary education major, she said she’s considering changing her studies to counseling.

“Growing up I didn’t have the best experience in school,” she said. “With my birth defect, I looked pretty different and I got bullied. I want to reach out to kids who went through the same thing I did and be like, ‘You’re going to be fine! I’m still here, you can get through it.’”

Wallace said she has struggled with depression due to the constant pain she experienced before her surgery, but she said she keeps fighting to overcome it and encourages others going through difficult circumstances beyond their control to do the same.

“Be brave and keep going,” she said. “I know how hard it is. It sucks, but you’ll get through it, I know you can. Sometimes that fog is all you see, but it’s not keeping you stuck. All you have to do is keep moving forward.”

Wallace said she’s happy to be back at UCM this semester, a decision she was unsure about because she is still healing from her surgery. However, she said she’s happy to be back at a school that she loves with her friends.

“I just decided that I didn’t want to put my life on hold anymore,” she said. “I’m ready to live my life because I never could before.”