billy-cart crash victim

Trinity walks with a limp and apart from little kids laughing at her - thinking she is putting on a silly walk to amuse them - she gets by without thinking too much about her disability.

"I got the limp as a result of a billy-cart crash," explains Trinity.

"I was raised in the backwoods with six older brothers and because we were poor we had to make our own fun."

"My brothers built billy-carts and raced them down a hill near our place," says Trinity.

"When I was about two one of my brothers put me in his cart and tied me down so I wouldn't fall out," says Trinity, "and when the cart crashed he was able to jump free but I got tangled in the ropes and my legs ended up somewhere around the back of my head."

"The leg with the limp was torn from its hip socket," explains Trinity, "and - don't laugh - I think that I also lost my virginity in the accident."

"I was badly injured in the groin area and I needed to have a lot of stitches between my legs."

"After coming out of hospital I had to wear orthopedic shoes for a long time," sighs Trinity, "and I hated those ugly boots."

"I got teased a lot at school because of the shoes - and because they never fixed my feet properly I sometimes think I would have been better off not wearing them."
"No," says Trinity, "I don't have any psychological scars from the incident."

"It was a pretty normal childhood accident and it's just tough luck that my brother tied me down rather than letting me hang on to him - and it's even tougher luck that the doctors weren't able to make me perfect again. But them's the breaks, right?"

"I loved billy-cart racing with my brothers," says Trinity, "it was great fun to tear down the hill at 100 mph and see who came first."

"Hardly a day would go by without one of the boys having a crash," says Trinity, "but I was the only one who landed up in hospital and ended up with a permanent injury."

"I suppose allowing a two-year old child to ride a billy-cart with older brothers wasn't very smart of my mother," reflects Trinity, "but she was like Old Mother Hubbard - too many children and not enough time to watch over us all."

"It was tough living out in the backwoods with a family of older brothers," laughs Trinity, "but it was fun most of the time."

"When I came home from hospital my brothers looked after me so well - I guess they felt guilty."

"The brother that caused the accident is still contrite to this day," laughs Trinity, "even though I've told him a hundred or more times that I never blamed him."

"The only real drawback with having a bad leg and a deformed foot is that I can't wear fashionable shoes," says Trinity.

"I'd really love to buy a pair of those spiky heeled shoes and wear them with fishnet stockings, " laughs Trinity, "but I guess I don't have the walk for that sort of look."

"Little kids who don't know me are a bit of a problem," says Trinity. "They see so many cartoons of people walking funny that they really do think I am being funny rather than being myself when I limp."

"The injuries have made it impossible for me to play competitive sports," says Trinity, "but I love swimming."

"Being in the water removes the limp completely!

"It would be nice to turn into a mermaid and never have to walk again," laughs Trinity. "But I don't really mean that - my boyfriend thinks I'm just fine as I am."

Trinity's story first appeared as silly walks and is reprinted with permission.