At 13, Terri French was walking down a street in Houston when a moment in time changed her life.

“A 14-year-old boy pulled up next to me on his bike and began talking to me. I took my eyes off of him for a split second and he stabbed me in my back,” she said.

The incident caused the New Caney resident to experience complete paralysis in her right foot and paralysis in the lower portion of her right leg. A year and a half later, more damage was done to her right foot when she was bitten by a poisonous spider.

“Paralysis causes poor blood circulation so over the next few years, I have had operations on my leg,” French said.

Paralysis did not stop French from living her life. At the age of 19, she got married and had a daughter. After her child was 9 months old, her doctor gave her two options: another major surgery or amputation. French chose the latter.

“I had already been through a major operation and it did not help so I did not want to put myself or my daughter through that,” she said. “I chose to have my leg amputated.

Once her leg was taken away, she received a prosthetic leg. But over the next few years, she was diagnosed with cancer and lost a lot of weight. With the weight loss, her prosthetic leg had to be readjusted. Recovering from her illness two years ago caused her to gain her weight back and unfortunately, her leg no longer fit.

“I have been wheelchair bound ever since,” French said. “It has been hard. People take the smallest things for granted.”

French, 45, said what is normally a five-minute trip to the corner store for orange juice is a 45-minute trip for her. She has to ask her family, friends or strangers to help her load and unload her wheelchair so she can get in and out of her vehicle.

Although French had insurance, her policy, like many others, does not cover prostheses.

“My insurance covers wheelchairs, crutches and healthcare providers, but not prostheses limbs,” she said. “Most people do not know that until they are in need of one.”

Surfing on the Internet in hopes of finding a prosthetic leg, French found the Limbs of Love website, which provides limbs for free. She contacted the organization via mail and three weeks later, she received her new prosthetic leg on July 27.

“I wrote them a letter telling them my story and they contacted me,” French said. “I was so excited and in shock that they contacted me.”

The new leg will allow French to get to her normal life. While her daughter and son-in-law work, she takes care of her two grandchildren. She now believes her new leg will allow her to do more with her “little angels.” She plans to take them to the aquarium, to be able to lift her own wheelchair and be more independent.

“Not only do I want my life to get back to normal, but I want their lives to be normal again. They are my little angels, my reason for getting up in the morning.” she said. “My 6-year-old grandson has to help me lift my wheelchair and it just hurts that he has to help me.”

Limbs of Love is a charity under the Amputee and Prosthetic Center of Houston. It was founded in 2008 as a way to provide free prosthetic limbs to those who do not have the money or whose insurance companies don’t cover the cost. Limbs of Love has spent $1.2 million in providing prosthetic limbs such as arms, legs, hands, feet, shoulders and hips.

“We go through each request to find candidates that we think will be a match for our program,” said Margaret Bonham, executive assistant-CEO at the Amputee and Prosthetic Center. “Our goal is to do one a month, but since we were able to raise a lot of money at our fundraiser, we are able to help more people this year.”

French has lived in the New Caney area for four years. She has one daughter, Tiffany, a son-in-law, Rick, and two grandchildren, David and Lorelai. Prior to losing her last prosthetic leg, she was a dispatcher for 18-wheelers.