News Article

Three years after losing part of an arm, a Buna teen learns how to stay positive along her way

July 22 - After being severely injured and burned in an all-terrain vehicle wreck in June 2007, Sunny Chism said that the hardest adjustment she had to make was not being able to put her hair in a ponytail.

Her left arm was amputated at the elbow.

"I used to cry all the time because I couldn't do my hair," Sunny, 16, said. But three years later, she participates in beauty pageants, and the 2010 Miss Buna Redbud now can put in her own blonde hair extensions.

Sunny will carry her new outlook on life with her Saturday when she leaves for Ohio. The Southeast Texas teen will spend her third summer attending the Amputee Coalition of America's Paddy Rossbach Youth Camp, which serves amputee youth from across the country.

But she hasn't stopped there.

In the three years since losing part of her arm, Sunny has become a spokesperson for the Limbs of Love, a non-profit charity organization that helps provide prosthetic limbs to patients that can't afford them. In 2009, Sunny traveled to Austin with the organization to lobby for prosthetic parity.

"Insurance companies didn't have to cover prosthetics before the bill was passed in Texas, but now the bill's passed to where you get more coverage on your prosthetics," Sunny said.

A measure of greatness

The Texas House Bill 806 and Senate Bill 26 was passed in the Texas House in April 2009, said Leslie O'Donnell, public relations director at TMC Orthopedic and The Amputee and Prosthetic Center in Houston. The Senate unanimously passed the bill that same month, and it was signed into law by Gov.

Rick Perry in May.

It was a parade that led Sunny to the legislation. While riding on a pageant float, she caught the attention of an employee of the prosthetics company. What was most eye-catching, O'Donnell said, was that Sunny wasn't wearing a prosthetic arm.

"What we found out was that the arm her family could afford with their insurance was a clunky old arm -- a cheap arm," O'Donnell said. "What she needed was more ascetically pleasing, and it wasn't covered."

Sunny became one of 19 people that have received a limb from Limbs of Love since 2007.

O'Donnell said that about $1.3 million of prosthetic devices has been covered.

Sunny has a purely-cosmetic arm, which means that it's nonfunctional and is "just for looks," she said. The prosthetic is an exact replica and opposite of her right arm and has veins in all the right places and painted fingernails.

But since it's summertime, Sunny admits that she doesn't wear it very often.

"Some of the reason that I don't wear it really is because it doesn't tan," Sunny said. "I'm really comfortable with my arm -- it doesn't really bother me."

Transformations and adaptations

Not one to be tripped up on minor obstacles, Sunny said that she hasn't let anything get in her way since the wreck.

Before receiving her drivers license, she was required by the Department of Public Safety to take an evaluation to see what adaptations needed to be made to her vehicle and what restrictions needed to be put on her license. Like any typical 16-year-old, Sunny wanted the car of her dreams. She had seen a bright yellow Chevy Camaro in the first "Transformers" movie and knew it was the car for her.

She found a dealership in Houston that customized the vehicle for her. Adaptive equipment was specially put into the Camaro, and the turn signal was moved from the left of the steering wheel to the right.

A yellow sun sticker was put on the back window of her car, which Sunny's mother Melanie said is a bit of her trademark.

"She adds a little bit of sunshine in everything she does," Melanie said.

Returning to the Amputee Coalition of America youth camp is a treat for Sunny, who takes takes pleasure in helping people like her who haven't yet adapted to their new life as an amputee.

"I like being able to help other amputees," she said. "Last year, I taught this girl how to put her hair in a ponytail."

Derrick Stowell, development coordinator of the youth camp program at ACA, said that he is very excited to have Sunny return to the camp.

"The really neat thing we see is a wide range of campers with different levels of amputation," Stowell said. "We're glad to have Sunny back because she's very good with working with younger campers."

The Amputee Coalition of America in Knoxville, Tenn., was officially incorporated in 1989, and the Paddy Rossbach Youth Camp was founded in 2000.

"We wanted to have specific programming to meet the needs of these youth," Stowell said. "This will be our 11th year, and we have 100 campers."

The camp serves youth with amputations, ages 10 to 17, Stowell said. The 17-yearold campers are called leaders- in-training, and most of the counselors also are amputees.

The camp is like any other summer experience for the kids, Stowell said. Daily swimming, a ropes course, archery, canoeing, arts and crafts and are a few of the activities offered at the fourday camp.

Staying sunny

Though she is almost always wearing T-shirts and shorts, Sunny said she likes "lots of bling." On any given day, you can find her with a French manicure and a huge bejeweled crown bracelet and sparkly cross necklace.

Sunny supports athletics and has developed a knack for art since her wreck. A year after the wreck, she continued to play volleyball and run track for her middle school. She said that now she is most concerned with keeping her grades up and preparing to start college courses for her junior year.

After graduating from high school, Sunny plans to get a degree in psychology.

"I want to work in a hospital, then work with camps like ACA camp and then I'm thinking the prison would be a fun place to work in," Sunny said.

She was struck with a desire to go into psychology while being in the burn unit at the hospital. She met a young boy who was burned from head-to-toe trying to relearn how to walk, and she was proud to be a part of his success.

Melanie said she has learned how important it is to appreciate every minute with her daughter.

"When Sunny had her accident, the world stopped turning," the mother of five said. "It's kind of hard to think about tomorrow when you had something that changed your life right here and right now."

When the family wants to do something, Melanie said they try not to put it off.

"At this point, we don't want to miss a minute of happiness -- instead of doing it next Wednesday, we do it now."

Living on the cuff, she said, is their philosophy. They take every life experience as preparation for what comes next.