Image description: A black & white photograph of Kari Miller, standing up and posing with her head to the side and one hand on her hip. There is text on the image. It reads, 'Kari Miller, living with double amputation. "Life is a bunch of hurdles" (STUBs) Striving towards understanding barriers'.
KARI'S STORY
" LIFE IS A BUNCH OF HURDLES "
Miller lost both her legs when her car was struck by a drunk driver while she was on leave from military duty in 1999. Causing her to lose portions of both of her legs. A military member and former high school basketball and track athlete, she knew she wanted to stay active despite her new injuries.
​
Reports state that Miller tried wheelchair basketball, but her first few attempts didn’t go as planned. “I sucked really, really bad,” she says. “I was just so weak.” (I played a little earlier this year and this is definitely a game where you need stamina)
​
Miller kept at the basketball for a while but reports say as a smaller player, she struggled to play against some of the veterans on the team, and she wasn’t selected for the team. “It was one of those ‘what do I do next?’ moments,” she says she was convinced to try sitting volleyball.
​
“My first thought was I don’t play volleyball, I play basketball. Volleyball is for girly girls.”
She started competing in the Paralympic Games in 2007 where she won a silver medal for her participation in Sitting Volleyball Invitational. In 2008, she participated in World Organization Volleyball for Disabled where she won a bronze medal and the same year got another silver one for her participation at the 2008 Paralympic Games in Beijing, China. In 2009, Miller was awarded Paralympian of the year. In 2010, she won a silver medal at Parapan American Championship which was held in Colorado and the same year got a gold medal for another WOVD Championship in 2011.
​
​
So you see, life really is a bunch of hurdles but if you're willing to adapt, change, try new things and jump...anything is possible!