Double Amputee Dances with Joy
2023
[MUSIC - MARCIA GRIFFITHS "ELECTRIC BOOGIE (ELECTRIC
SLIDE)"] It's electric.
DIRK BAUMANN: Ticia is very unique in her positivity
and her optimism.
It's wonderful to be able to participate
in dancing with her.
That's a big part of her life.
LETICIA BOYKIN-OWENS: My nail polish, it's time
for me to get them done again.
That's the scar.
And there's my incision.
DIRK BAUMANN: Even from the very start,
when I explained to her that we were
going to need to do amputations, she was, "Fine, doctor.
You need to do what you need to do.
Tell me what I need to do in order
to be walking again, because I'm not going to be in a bed.
I'm going to be doing things."
LETICIA BOYKIN-OWENS: A lot of people
don't make it from aortic dissection.
And I had three strokes and a heart attack on that table.
I was determined to live.
I made it through, and then they were
testing my feet and my legs.
And they discovered the blood clots, too many to count.
And they couldn't control them.
So they had to amputate my legs.
Watch out, world!
Watch out!
Here I come!
Here I come!
DIRK BAUMANN: The next time I saw her,
she brought in this video for me to look at.
And she was roller skating just a month and a half later.
LETICIA BOYKIN-OWENS: There's my girl.
Look at them shoes.
MAHAZARIN GINWALLA: We were always
talking about the fun, make-up and shoes and heals
and shopping and the dancing.
She is probably the most fun.
Who, despite everything, has this most incredible attitude,
lives life to the fullest.
She is just so inspiring.
LETICIA BOYKIN-OWENS: My doctors can monitor me from afar.
And they do, especially doctor Ginwalla.
She had me under her thumb because I don't act right.
MAHAZARIN GINWALLA: Ticia loves scallops.
So every time she eats scallops, her lung pressures go up.
Then she receives a call from my office.
LETICIA BOYKIN-OWENS: She'll tell me in a minute,
stop eating those scallops right now.
MAHAZARIN GINWALLA: I know that through the CardioMEMS device,
she is starting to retain more fluid.
LETICIA BOYKIN-OWENS: She is on me.
Hi, y'all.
MAHAZARIN GINWALLA: It truly takes a whole big team
to help take care of patients like Ticia,
so not only in the cardiovascular team,
but also other subspecialist.
I think it highlights a world-class care
that we have here.
DIRK BAUMANN: It's phenomenal to know how sick she was,
and to see her now, she's an incredible inspiration.
LETICIA BOYKIN-OWENS: Even though I don't have legs
and my fingers have been amputated,
there's no room for depression.
There's no time for that.
You got to live.
[MUSIC PLAYING]
SLIDE)"] It's electric.
DIRK BAUMANN: Ticia is very unique in her positivity
and her optimism.
It's wonderful to be able to participate
in dancing with her.
That's a big part of her life.
LETICIA BOYKIN-OWENS: My nail polish, it's time
for me to get them done again.
That's the scar.
And there's my incision.
DIRK BAUMANN: Even from the very start,
when I explained to her that we were
going to need to do amputations, she was, "Fine, doctor.
You need to do what you need to do.
Tell me what I need to do in order
to be walking again, because I'm not going to be in a bed.
I'm going to be doing things."
LETICIA BOYKIN-OWENS: A lot of people
don't make it from aortic dissection.
And I had three strokes and a heart attack on that table.
I was determined to live.
I made it through, and then they were
testing my feet and my legs.
And they discovered the blood clots, too many to count.
And they couldn't control them.
So they had to amputate my legs.
Watch out, world!
Watch out!
Here I come!
Here I come!
DIRK BAUMANN: The next time I saw her,
she brought in this video for me to look at.
And she was roller skating just a month and a half later.
LETICIA BOYKIN-OWENS: There's my girl.
Look at them shoes.
MAHAZARIN GINWALLA: We were always
talking about the fun, make-up and shoes and heals
and shopping and the dancing.
She is probably the most fun.
Who, despite everything, has this most incredible attitude,
lives life to the fullest.
She is just so inspiring.
LETICIA BOYKIN-OWENS: My doctors can monitor me from afar.
And they do, especially doctor Ginwalla.
She had me under her thumb because I don't act right.
MAHAZARIN GINWALLA: Ticia loves scallops.
So every time she eats scallops, her lung pressures go up.
Then she receives a call from my office.
LETICIA BOYKIN-OWENS: She'll tell me in a minute,
stop eating those scallops right now.
MAHAZARIN GINWALLA: I know that through the CardioMEMS device,
she is starting to retain more fluid.
LETICIA BOYKIN-OWENS: She is on me.
Hi, y'all.
MAHAZARIN GINWALLA: It truly takes a whole big team
to help take care of patients like Ticia,
so not only in the cardiovascular team,
but also other subspecialist.
I think it highlights a world-class care
that we have here.
DIRK BAUMANN: It's phenomenal to know how sick she was,
and to see her now, she's an incredible inspiration.
LETICIA BOYKIN-OWENS: Even though I don't have legs
and my fingers have been amputated,
there's no room for depression.
There's no time for that.
You got to live.
[MUSIC PLAYING]
With a soundtrack in her soul, Leticia Boykin-Owens keeps dancing, even after having both of her legs amputated below the knee.
Ticia, as she is known to many, was determined to walk, then dance and even roller skate; in the process she became an inspiration to many. Thankfully, her medical team repeatedly matched her persistence during her health trials.
In this video Ticia shares how her doctors, both in the hospital and since she’s been home, helped her beat the odds and made it possible for her to live a full and vibrant life today.