Life and Limb

Courtney Gilmour is an award-winning stand-up comedian, television writer, and finalist on Canada’s Got Talent. She is one of Canada's most unique voices and sought-after comedy talents, named by NOW Magazine as “one of the top 10 stage artists to watch.” Courtney's victory at the 2017 Just For Laughs Homegrown competition was the first by a female comic in the 19-year-history of the event. Her first album - “Let Me Hold Your Baby” – was JUNO-nominated, and she’s just released her new “Wonder Woman" album – which is a really funny take on life as a triple limb amputee when it comes to public perceptions that come with her unique disability.

A musician, writer, broadcaster, Christa Couture is proudly Indigenous and queer and a lower extremity amputee since childhood. She loves to share stories that intersect with disability, and is now the host of Season 5 of the AMI travel docu-series “Postcards from...” featuring a different Canadian city each episode. Her career's work has explored experiences of loss, which include several unimaginable ones in her own life.

Jakob Kepka, a military veteran and amputee, is prepared for all of the risks associated with his upcoming "Hoperaising Expedition", a 900-kilometre bike ride from Krakow, Poland, to Kyiv, Ukraine, fearing Ukrainian drivers more than the Russians, he says. Jakob shares his personal motivation to pedal through the war-torn terrain as a beacon of hope for those with amputations, and similar physical and psychological challenges that he faced after the loss of his leg, to raise money to support Ukrainian amputees.

Alvin Law says “attitude” is so much more than an overused word, and shares his remarkable story on Life and Limb, thrive magazine’s podcast. It’s a story of life without arms that he’s told to over two million people on five continents at over 7,500 events. Abandoned by his birth family at just five days old, Alvin has spent his life doing things that he wasn’t supposed to do. That sounds rebellious, and it is in his own way. His rebellion involved things like playing trombone and driving a car – with his feet. "I refused to let other people’s labels and limitations hold me back," he says. Today, he's a renowned Certified Speaking Professional, and the best-selling author of Alvin’s Laws of Life... 5 Steps to Successfully Overcome Anything!

In this first episode of Life and Limb, host Jeff Tiessen chats with Edmonton's Alexis Hillyard.

A teacher by profession, Alexis is a motivator, influencer and a YouTube content creator. She’s incredibly passionate about being her authentic disabled, queer self. She’s a rock climber, musician, mom of two, chef and much more, and she can be unapologetically silly.

Born without her left hand, Alexis knows all about limb difference, and has navigated that on her own terms since she was a child. Many know her from Stump Kitchen, her YouTube show (100 million+ views) that celebrates the unique ways we move through the world. She shares more on that, and the joy she finds in being genuine, and about her love for play.

Watch on YouTube

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Links mentioned in this episode:

• StumpKitchen.com