{"id":18806,"date":"2018-10-05T09:43:03","date_gmt":"2018-10-05T15:43:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/?p=18806"},"modified":"2024-12-23T14:31:30","modified_gmt":"2024-12-23T21:31:30","slug":"finding-pearls-fire-forces-4-story-jump-and-a-woman-embraces-beauty","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/finding-pearls-fire-forces-4-story-jump-and-a-woman-embraces-beauty\/","title":{"rendered":"Finding pearls. Fire forces 4-story jump and a woman embraces beauty."},"content":{"rendered":"<div style=\"margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px;\" class=\"sharethis-inline-share-buttons\" ><\/div><p>A big ball of orange lit up the window of Alina\u2019s fourth-floor apartment.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_18878\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-18878\" style=\"width: 640px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-large wp-image-18878\" src=\"https:\/\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2018\/10\/11174521\/Alina-vertical-72dpi-sized.webp\" alt=\"Alina Miller had to jump four stories out of her burning apartment building. Now, she's embracing every adventure that comes her way. She poses here with a road. Alina had to have one leg amputated and runs with a blade.\" width=\"640\" height=\"737\" srcset=\"https:\/\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2018\/10\/11174521\/Alina-vertical-72dpi-sized.webp 868w, https:\/\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2018\/10\/11174521\/Alina-vertical-72dpi-sized-260x300.webp 260w, https:\/\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2018\/10\/11174521\/Alina-vertical-72dpi-sized-768x885.webp 768w, https:\/\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2018\/10\/11174521\/Alina-vertical-72dpi-sized-130x150.webp 130w, https:\/\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2018\/10\/11174521\/Alina-vertical-72dpi-sized-200x230.webp 200w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-18878\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Alina Miller had to jump four stories out of her burning apartment building. Now, she&#8217;s embracing every adventure that comes her way.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>She wondered for just a second why anyone would be setting off fireworks a month after the Fourth of July. That thought vanished quickly as she realized that her building in Aurora was ablaze. She had to escape.<\/p>\n<p>Alina, then 22, raced to open the door leading to a long hallway, only to be pushed back by a wall of flames and thick, acrid black smoke. She ran to the window and screamed for help. No one was there.<\/p>\n<div class=\"su-youtube su-u-responsive-media-yes\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" width=\"600\" height=\"400\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/dHMVOoKo6e0?autohide=2&amp;autoplay=0&amp;mute=0&amp;controls=1&amp;fs=1&amp;loop=0&amp;modestbranding=0&amp;rel=0&amp;showinfo=1&amp;theme=dark&amp;wmode=&amp;playsinline=0\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen allow=\"autoplay; encrypted-media; picture-in-picture\" title=\"\"><\/iframe><\/div>\n<p>Adrenaline raced through her body. Could she try jumping to a third-floor ledge? That wouldn\u2019t work. Could she lower herself to the third floor with a sheet? No, she didn\u2019t have enough upper body strength. There was no sign of firefighters yet, and in the 30 seconds since she had first noticed the flames, her apartment was filling with smoke. She took the only escape she could.<\/p>\n<p>She jumped.<\/p>\n<h3><strong>Oysters: \u2018They\u2019re so beautiful\u2019<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>Since that horrific day in August 2012, Alina got married, walking down the aisle in tiffany-blue Converse tennis shoes to wed her wonderful Jeff. She has nurtured a swarm of bees that produce gobs of honey, encouraged others in her work and inked a new tattoo on her upper right thigh \u2013 oysters.<\/p>\n<p>For Alina, oysters are near perfect specimens. They\u2019re filter feeders, leaving their environment better than they found it. When an irritant such as a fragment of shell becomes lodged inside an oyster, a pearl forms.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_18817\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-18817\" style=\"width: 640px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-large wp-image-18817\" src=\"https:\/\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2018\/10\/05093317\/Ran-Colfax-5k-blade-cropped-out-sized.webp\" alt=\"A photo of a woman at the Colfax Marathon in Denver.\" width=\"640\" height=\"564\" srcset=\"https:\/\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2018\/10\/05093317\/Ran-Colfax-5k-blade-cropped-out-sized.webp 1134w, https:\/\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2018\/10\/05093317\/Ran-Colfax-5k-blade-cropped-out-sized-300x265.webp 300w, https:\/\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2018\/10\/05093317\/Ran-Colfax-5k-blade-cropped-out-sized-1024x903.webp 1024w, https:\/\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2018\/10\/05093317\/Ran-Colfax-5k-blade-cropped-out-sized-768x677.webp 768w, https:\/\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2018\/10\/05093317\/Ran-Colfax-5k-blade-cropped-out-sized-150x132.webp 150w, https:\/\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2018\/10\/05093317\/Ran-Colfax-5k-blade-cropped-out-sized-200x176.webp 200w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-18817\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Alina Miller has been more active than ever after a fire forced her to jump from her 4th-story apartment building. She shattered her leg, but found a rich new life.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>\u201cThat\u2019s so beautiful,\u2019\u2019 she said. \u201cThey leave their world better than they found it, and from an irritant, they make something beautiful, a pearl.\u2019\u2019<\/p>\n<p>The arsonist, influenced by Aurora theater shooter James Holmes, had a full container of gasoline when he started pouring it in the hallway outside Alina\u2019s apartment, making the fire more intense on the upper floors. When she jumped, Alina\u2019s barefoot left foot hit first and took the brunt of the 45-foot fall. Her weight shifted to the right foot, and then she fell straight back, landing hard on concrete which broke her back. Her cell phone flew somewhere near the building.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI didn\u2019t open my eyes. I curled up into a ball,\u2019\u2019 she said. \u201cI was overwhelmed with a huge, deep aching pain.\u2019\u2019<\/p>\n<h3><strong>A guardian angel<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>A man raced to her side, and then he told her he had to go check on others who were hanging out of their windows.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDon\u2019t leave me,\u2019\u2019 Alina screamed. \u201cDon\u2019t leave me.\u2019\u2019<\/p>\n<p>A woman ran to Alina\u2019s side to help.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMy feet are broken. I can\u2019t move,\u2019\u2019 Alina told the stranger.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_18818\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-18818\" style=\"width: 241px\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-18818\" src=\"https:\/\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2018\/10\/05093323\/Waking-up-from-Amp-sized.webp\" alt=\"A young woman wakes up in a hospital bed after she had to have an amputation.\" width=\"241\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2018\/10\/05093323\/Waking-up-from-Amp-sized.webp 802w, https:\/\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2018\/10\/05093323\/Waking-up-from-Amp-sized-241x300.webp 241w, https:\/\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2018\/10\/05093323\/Waking-up-from-Amp-sized-768x958.webp 768w, https:\/\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2018\/10\/05093323\/Waking-up-from-Amp-sized-120x150.webp 120w, https:\/\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2018\/10\/05093323\/Waking-up-from-Amp-sized-200x249.webp 200w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 241px) 100vw, 241px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-18818\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Alina Miller waking up after her amputation. Photo courtesy of Alina Miller.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Somehow, the stranger-turned-guardian-angel managed to pick up Alina, leaning against a minivan for leverage before carrying her to the far parking lot. Another man came to her and asked if he could help, then he retrieved Alina\u2019s cell phone that had bounced out of her pocket in the fall. She called her mother, a nurse at Denver Health.<\/p>\n<p>All around, fire exploded from the windows of the apartment building, firefighters scrambled to rescue people and the shrill of sirens filled the air. \u201cWe were watching the windows and seeing the chaos. We couldn\u2019t even function,\u2019\u2019 Alina said.<\/p>\n<p>An ambulance whisked Alina to nearby <a href=\"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/locations\/uchealth-university-of-colorado-hospital-uch\/\">UCHealth University of Colorado Hospital<\/a> on the Anschutz Medical Campus. She was assessed and immediately taken to surgery. Both feet were shattered; she had a compression fracture in her back.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/provider\/bennie-lindeque-mmed-phd-musculoskeletal-oncology-orthopedic-surgery\/\">Dr. Bennie Lindeque<\/a>, an orthopedic surgeon, saw Alina in the ER and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/provider\/robert-leland-md-foot-and-ankle-orthopedic-surgery\/\">Dr. Robert Leland<\/a>, an orthopedic foot and ankle surgeon, then assumed responsibility for her care.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDr. Leland said my left foot was like trying to put back together a (crushed) potato chip,\u2019\u2019 Alina said.<\/p>\n<h3><strong>A long road to heal<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>Alina stayed in the hospital for five days, never alone for more than an hour with a constant stream of visitors and loved ones. She had casts on both her feet and a back brace that stretched from hips to collar bone. She then was able to go to her mother\u2019s home. A nurse at Denver Health for 30 years, Kellie Leigh, carefully tended to her daughter.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_18814\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-18814\" style=\"width: 225px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-18814\" src=\"https:\/\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2018\/10\/05093257\/Alina-sitting-in-the-grass-sized.webp\" alt=\"A young woman sits in grass with her wheel chair behind her.\" width=\"225\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2018\/10\/05093257\/Alina-sitting-in-the-grass-sized.webp 600w, https:\/\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2018\/10\/05093257\/Alina-sitting-in-the-grass-sized-225x300.webp 225w, https:\/\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2018\/10\/05093257\/Alina-sitting-in-the-grass-sized-113x150.webp 113w, https:\/\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2018\/10\/05093257\/Alina-sitting-in-the-grass-sized-200x267.webp 200w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 225px) 100vw, 225px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-18814\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Alina Miller works to get out of her wheel chair. Photo courtesy of Alina Miller.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>As she recovered, Alina made frequent visits to see Leland, who tried to help with the severe fractures to her calcaneal \u2013 or heel \u2013 bones and the associated damage to surrounding tissue and joints. She spent months in a cast and boot suffering deep pain that hurt her all the time.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s not so much getting the bone healed, the problem is when you have a real high energy break, the soft tissue and everything around it is also severely injured,\u2019\u2019 Leland said.<\/p>\n<p>Alina had a strong support system to help her push through the darkness. Her mom and friends got her out on the porch to sit in the sun and pushed her around the park in her wheelchair. Even little trips to the mall and Ikea were exhausting, but they kept Alina from becoming depressed. Seven months after the fire, Alina became reacquainted with Jeff Miller, whom she knew in high school.<\/p>\n<h3><strong>A kind supporter and a wedding<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>In the months and years after the fire, Alina had five more surgeries to repair her shattered foot.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe surgeries became a blur,\u2019\u2019 she said. \u201cI had lot of pain. I had so much hardware, I have these x-rays that just look like Frankenstein.\u2019\u2019<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_18815\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-18815\" style=\"width: 300px\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-18815\" src=\"https:\/\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2018\/10\/05093302\/Alina-wakeboarding-newest-version-sized.webp\" alt=\"A woman wakeboards. Her left leg is amputated and she wears a prosthetic.\" width=\"300\" height=\"200\" srcset=\"https:\/\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2018\/10\/05093302\/Alina-wakeboarding-newest-version-sized.webp 1200w, https:\/\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2018\/10\/05093302\/Alina-wakeboarding-newest-version-sized-300x200.webp 300w, https:\/\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2018\/10\/05093302\/Alina-wakeboarding-newest-version-sized-1024x683.webp 1024w, https:\/\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2018\/10\/05093302\/Alina-wakeboarding-newest-version-sized-768x512.webp 768w, https:\/\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2018\/10\/05093302\/Alina-wakeboarding-newest-version-sized-150x100.webp 150w, https:\/\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2018\/10\/05093302\/Alina-wakeboarding-newest-version-sized-200x133.webp 200w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-18815\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Alina Miller has embraced life&#8217;s adventures after having her leg amputated, including giong wakeboarding. Photo courtesy of Alina Miller<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>A slender woman to start with, Alina shrunk to only 87 pounds. She acquired an infection after one of the surgeries and needed a <a href=\"https:\/\/medlineplus.gov\/ency\/patientinstructions\/000461.htm\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">PICC line \u2013 a peripherally inserted central catheter<\/a> &#8211; for three months so she could receive medications intravenously. With each surgery, scar tissue formed and her foot gradually became more and more nerve sensitive. She spent much of her time on crutches and in a fracture boot.<\/p>\n<p>Jeff became Alina\u2019s everything. He took her to and from appointments and physical therapy, sleeping on the couch in the hospital when she had overnight stays. He cooked exotic meals in attempts to help Alina gain some weight back and would stay up late into the night holding her while she cried from the pain. A man who never before had been comfortable in a medical environment became fluent in the language and her care.<\/p>\n<p>In October 2014, Jeff planned a day of surprises. He took Alina, who loves insects and once raised tarantulas and praying mantises, to breakfast and the Butterfly Pavilion. Then he dropped her off for a massage, took her home to take a nap. (She required naps when her foot was bad because walking was so exhausting.) Then they headed to the Denver Botanic Gardens.<\/p>\n<p>Alina was seated in front of a lake when Jeff\u2019s best friend, a photographer, popped out of nowhere. Alina turned around to find Jeff on one knee.<\/p>\n<p>Alina decided she would have an eighth surgery so she could walk down the aisle at her wedding, eight months away.<\/p>\n<p>Wearing blue Converse shoes and she and Jeff said their vows Sept. 5, 2015, in the Tears McFarlane House near Cheeseman Park in Denver in a beautiful ceremony followed by a reception, but no dancing.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSince I couldn\u2019t dance, we played board games, and yard games \u2013 ladder games and corn hole. It was beautiful. I was worried about my wedding making me feel disabled but it didn\u2019t.\u2019\u2019<\/p>\n<h3><strong>Saying goodbye to the pain<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>The wedding was storybook-perfect. And soon it would be time for Alina to continue with her plan. Before the wedding, she and Jeff decided that after their wedding and honeymoon, Alina would have her left leg amputated below the knee.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThere were few options for surgery to improve her foot,\u2019\u2019 Leland said. \u201cShe had a bad, post-traumatic stiff foot. We talked about amputating together. We have a wonderful relationship. She is somebody that I have taken care of a lot. It almost becomes like a family member.\u2019\u2019<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_18811\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-18811\" style=\"width: 300px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-18811\" src=\"https:\/\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2018\/10\/05093244\/Alina-modeling-with-Madeline-Stuart-newest-version-sized.webp\" alt=\"Three women model at a show. The middle one is a famous model with down syndrome named Madeline Stuart .The one on the right is Alina Miller, an amputee who has gotten a new leg and a new life.\" width=\"300\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2018\/10\/05093244\/Alina-modeling-with-Madeline-Stuart-newest-version-sized.webp 600w, https:\/\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2018\/10\/05093244\/Alina-modeling-with-Madeline-Stuart-newest-version-sized-300x300.webp 300w, https:\/\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2018\/10\/05093244\/Alina-modeling-with-Madeline-Stuart-newest-version-sized-150x150.webp 150w, https:\/\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2018\/10\/05093244\/Alina-modeling-with-Madeline-Stuart-newest-version-sized-200x200.webp 200w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-18811\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Alina Miller gets a chance to model with Madeline Stuart, the first professional model with down syndrome. Photo courtesy of Alina Miller.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Alina and Jeff trucked to Cancun for their honeymoon,\u00a0and along the journey, Alina said, \u201cIt gave me time to say goodbye to my foot.\u2019\u2019<\/p>\n<p>By the time January 2016 came, Alina was ready to say goodbye to her leg. Initially, the idea of leg amputation was traumatic, though Alina came to accept that surgery would allow her to be pain-free, and certainly less tethered to doctors and hospitals.<\/p>\n<p>Before the surgery, Alina\u2019s mother wrote a note in magic marker on her daughter\u2019s left leg.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDear Dr. Leland. Thank you for trying so hard to save me. And now we must part ways. Sincerely, Lefty.\u2019\u2019<\/p>\n<p>Leland, who shared Alina\u2019s highs and lows during countless appointments, is one of the most important people in Alina\u2019s life. Every Christmas, she makes it her mission to deliver a gift to him.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI can\u2019t speak highly enough of him,\u2019\u2019 Alina said. \u201cHe worked so hard to help me. He was so kind and it was clear he truly cared about me. When I was at my limit, he said, \u2018If it were up to me I would try one more surgery, but ultimately you are the one suffering the recovery. I support you, and I think you are right. It\u2019s time to amputate.\u2019 \u2019\u2019<\/p>\n<p>Four years after she jumped from the burning building, surgeons at University of Colorado Hospital amputated her left leg, below the knee. And Alina had no regrets.<\/p>\n<h3><strong>A new leg. A new life.<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>\u201cI woke up happy,\u2019\u2019 she said. A few months later, she was fitted with a prosthetic left leg.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe first time I tried it on, it was wild. It felt like my leg was so long because it had been short for so long.\u2019\u2019<\/p>\n<p>The new leg gave Alina a new life. She joined <a href=\"https:\/\/lim359.org\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Denver LIM359<\/a>, an adaptive, ability-based group that provides therapy through activities for people who have lost limbs. With that group \u2013 and a prosthetic leg \u2013 she has done wakeboarding, scuba diving, archery, rock climbing.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_18816\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-18816\" style=\"width: 225px\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-18816\" src=\"https:\/\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2018\/10\/05093310\/Headed-into-amp-sized.webp\" alt=\"Alina Miller poses with her husband as she prepares to go into surgery.\" width=\"225\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2018\/10\/05093310\/Headed-into-amp-sized.webp 750w, https:\/\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2018\/10\/05093310\/Headed-into-amp-sized-225x300.webp 225w, https:\/\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2018\/10\/05093310\/Headed-into-amp-sized-113x150.webp 113w, https:\/\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2018\/10\/05093310\/Headed-into-amp-sized-200x267.webp 200w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 225px) 100vw, 225px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-18816\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Alina and her husband as she headed into her amputation surgery. Photo courtesy of Alina Miller.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>She recently received a prosthetic \u201cblade,\u2019\u2019 which has allowed her to run many events throughout Colorado, including the Colfax 5K. She recently participated in a camp teaching new amputees how to run, swim and bike.<\/p>\n<p>Through Denver LIM359, Alina has become more curious, adventurous and willing to cherish and relish every moment.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s just like trying to hit a bucket list \u2013 say no to nothing,\u2019\u2019 she said.<\/p>\n<p>In November, Alina plans to try sled hockey, propelling herself over the ice with her arms. At home, she and Jeff spoil their dachshunds, FlapJack and Olli. For Christmas, her friends will receive a jar of honey from her hive of bees.<\/p>\n<h3><strong>Celebrating as others take first steps<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>Alina works at <a href=\"https:\/\/ctechops.net\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Creative Technology Orthotic\u00a0&amp; Prosthetic Solutions<\/a>, where she and another man who has also lost a leg spend time helping people who have lost limbs. They meet regularly with new patients in the first six to eight weeks after amputation. When Leland has a patient who is considering amputation, he asks Alina to come to talk to the person and offer support.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe go to doctors\u2019 appointments with them to make sure we are all on the same page about the patient\u2019s care, and we provide full support for them and for families, to help them understand,\u2019\u2019 Alina said.<\/p>\n<p>After conversations with those who have lost a leg, Alina finds she is grateful that her amputation came over time and not immediately. After all those years of surgeries and struggling with a bum leg, it was something she had prepared for and wanted.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMy life is so much better than it was,\u2019\u2019 she said. \u201cI don\u2019t miss my left foot. Even when I get up to go to the bathroom in the middle of the night, and I have to stop and put on my leg, I don\u2019t miss it.\u2019\u2019<\/p>\n<p>The one thing she can\u2019t do is stand on her tiptoes.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt annoys me, but it\u2019s pretty minor,\u2019\u2019 she said.<\/p>\n<p>As part of her job, Alina sits with people when they are fitted with their first prosthesis. \u201cI get to see people take their first steps and, every time, it is really beautiful.\u2019\u2019<\/p>\n<p>On Aug. 7, the day after the sixth anniversary of the fire, an artist inked the tattoo of oysters on Alina\u2019s upper right leg, a reminder that irritants can turn to pearls.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A big ball of orange lit up the window of Alina\u2019s fourth-floor apartment. She wondered for just a second why anyone would be setting off fireworks a month after the Fourth of July. That thought vanished quickly as she realized that her building in Aurora was ablaze. She had to escape. 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