A strong woman who lost both of her legs in an accident overcomes obstacles to become the first disabled doctor in the United States.
Shima Nixon, a resolute woman who lost both of her legs in an accident, overcomes obstacles to become the first disabled doctor in the United States.
Shima Nixon suffered severe injuries in an automobile accident. She lost her left leg above the knee in 2013 while attending Pitt Community College for nursing school, and she later lost her right leg below the knee.
As stated on Hanger Clinic.com, Shima did not give up after her treatment and chose to begin her leg journey with a prosthetic (an artificial device or limb that replaces a missing or non-functioning part of the body).
After months of rigorous rehabilitation, she began to walk with the assistance of the prosthetic. Shima progressed from using a wheelchair to using two canes to wake up and eventually begin walking independently.
Despite all the obstacles, Shima returned to school in May 2016 to get her associate’s degree in recreational therapy assistant. Following that, she attended Georgia Southern University and graduated with a bachelor’s degree in recreational therapy.
Shima also started peer visiting other amputees and participating in adaptive sports like wheelchair basketball, which helped her to better embrace who she is. She observed another amputee who was receiving little to no treatment when she began working as a recreational therapist for guys in prison.
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“I was inspired to consider a career as a prosthetist/orthotist (O&P) after seeding the amputee,” she said. Shima started applying to master’s programs at O&P and was accepted to several of them.
Shima chose Alabama State University, the only historically black college and university (HBCU) with the curriculum because her aim includes addressing the racial inequities existent in O&P, where many patients of color do not have a therapist that looks like them.
Shima stated, “I don’t mind filling the void, serving as the model and demonstrating to other amputees, women, and particularly African Americans in general that those roles you don’t see yourself in are the primary ones you should pursue.”
When I work as a prostitute, I’m sure my clients will appreciate that their clinician not only looks like them, but also IS them,” she continued.
She received funding for her education at Alabama State University through the Hanger Foundation Diversity Scholarship. Her Master of Science degree was in Orthotics and Prosthetics.
She began her O&P residency with Hanger Clinic in Miami after graduating, where she is collaborating closely with a diverse team of elite orthoticists and prosthetists to empower members of the limb loss and limb diversity community.
In addition to helping others realize that representation counts and that they, too, can overcome obstacles and live the life they’ve always desired, Shima expressed her excitement at working with a varied mix of patients.
