Last month, Miami Dolphins defensive tackle Kendrick Norton was involved in a car crash that required him to have his left arm amputated.
Kendrick Norton on his Instagram story this morning 🙏
Crazy, right? Life-changing, shocking, and probably financially challenging, right?
Well, in a video posted to his joint YouTube channel with his girlfriend, Kira Andrea, Norton gave us a lesson in self-compassion and perspective as he showed his viewers how he takes care of "Lil' Ken" — what he's named his amputated arm — every morning.
"I know everybody wants to know," his girlfriend Kira begins the video, "How does it feel to wake up one morning and you’re armless? How do you cope with it?”
“I’m just trying to not be down about it, because that’s not going to fix anything," says Norton.
Then, when Kira asks him how he has so much strength at such a young age, he replies, "I don’t know, it’s not that hard for me to stay strong. I can pretty much motivate myself to get up, get around."
His biggest challenge? The extra time it takes him to do things.
His biggest piece of advice for fellow amputees is, "Don’t let what other people say determine how you feel about yourself."
