Today we’d like to introduce you to Whitney Lavender.
Hi Whitney, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
In 2017 I was living a normal, busy, life…running a family HVAC business in Texas, raising two boys, running to sporting events, and hunting every chance I could get. Then on November 27, 2017 I went to pick my boys up for school, went in to sign out for a basketball jersey, and went to leave. In one split second, everything changed. I fell down the set of stairs, hard, and ended up damaging the nerve in my right leg directly under my knee. I knew something was wrong immediately, but I had no clue all that was to come. After months of trying to push through, physical therapy, and more doctor appointments and tests than I could keep up with, I was diagnosed with a rare disease/neurological condition called Complex Regional Pain Syndrome (or CRPS for short). There is no cure or FDA approved treatments and just so happens to be the most painful condition known to mankind. The doctor that provided the diagnosis had never seen such a clear cut, textbook case in all his years of treating. The months that followed were arduous to say the least. The leg became frozen – it wouldn’t bend at the knee, ankle, or toes. The pain was so severe that not even wind, or bed sheets, or a sock could come into contact without sending me screaming out in excruciating pain. In 2020 I was referred to a surgeon knowing that amputation was on the table as an option. I was surprised however when that surgeon took one look at the limb and said this has to go. NOW! I had developed gangrene in my right toes, and two weeks later on 4/20/20 I went in to the hospital, alone (it was the beginning of Covid and the world was shut down) to have my right leg amputated above the knee. I woke up almost completely pain free and instantly set my sights on walking again on a prosthetic. By July I took home my prosthetic leg, was back to fishing and living my life to the fullest again. Or so I thought. Within a month I could not stand on the new leg without intense and severe pain. Turns out there were several issues with the first leg, and the way the surgery was performed initially, and I had to seek treatment from a specialist in Houston, TX. He was a godsend! After a series of 3 surgeries, the right limb was repaired, but hopes of a prosthetic had been taken off the table completely after all the trauma to the leg. I attempted to pick up the pieces and carry on…then, in the summer of 20021, the disease CRPS spread to the left leg. And it spread quickly. I worked closely with the specialist to attempt to save that leg, but when it was clear that was not an option, the decision was made to amputate the left leg as well. The left leg was amputated above the knee on 9-14-22, and the months and years that followed took me down a deep, dark path. I gained 200 lbs, all of my other conditions overtook my body, and I was on my death bed for a short period of time. During this darkest period of my life I was also in a long term, abusive marriage. I am quite sure that the environment I was in contributed to my health decline significantly. Gratefully I have people in my life that have known me if not my entire life, the majority of it, that could see I was in need of help. I had a group of angels that swooped in, helped me pick up my life, and start over again in my hometown of Amarillo, TX. That community there helped bring me back to life. And I was not going to take this new lease on life for granted after all that I have been through. It started super small with “I Choose” statements every morning when I opened my eyes. I would choose 2 0r 3 things that I was going to focus on that day, and throughout the day ensure my mind was concentrating on those things. Movement, friendship, connection, peace, joy, etc. It sounds like such a small thing, but it was enormously impactful. I also started moving my body again. It began by picking up two 3 lb. weights and just doing simple forearm curls…but from there, it snowballed. I eventually lost all the extra weight I had put on, but more importantly, became more mobile and in turn more and more independent. I realized that through pushing myself a bit out of my comfort zone, I was finding tremendous growth. So in 2024, I leapt further outside of my comfort zone than I ever had before, and traveled from TX to Memphis, TN to visit a friend. That leap paid off in more ways than I could ever count. First of all, I found love again. But more than that, I found someone that is just as excited about evolving as a human as I am. Since then I got hand controls on my vehicle and began driving again; wrote and published a children’s book based on my story called Whit & Wheels: A Journey of Courage available now on Amazon or I have copies you can purchase and have signed/personalized; got back to hunting again! I have harvested 4 deer and my very first turkey since getting back to the hunt thanks to organizations like Hope Outdoors and the Arkabutla Physically Challenged Deer Hunt and am gearing up now for this upcoming hunting season (seeking sponsors to help make that happen); started training jiu-jitsu – it was something I have always wanted to do, but just waited until I lost both of my legs to give it a whirl – I train out of Law School MMA & Warriors Martial Arts and Fitness and even received my first stripe on my white belt from none other than Royce Gracie last year; Became Ms. Wheelchair Tennessee 2026 on the platform of Roll Without Limits: Adaptive Martial Arts for All and spent the last year advocating, connecting with children with disabilities in the community including holding an adaptive jiujitsu class for them in July, meeting with the Governor and many other city and state officials, was invited to many speaking engagements or trainings of various kinds, co-hosted a show in Seacrest Studios in LeBonheur Hospital, and just traveled to Grand Rapids, MI for a week to compete in the Ms. Wheelchair America 2027 competition – rolling away as 1st Runner-Up, Miss Congeniality, 18 new sisters, and with a heart more full than I have ever known before – now I am responsible for helping to reestablishing the Ms. Wheelchair Tennessee program and my intention is to never let it fall to the wayside again, we will be crowning a new Queen sometime this winter so if you know someone in a wheelchair that wants to get involved please connect with me or your business would like to partner and help support our organization I would love to connect; I am currently working as a reporter and commentator for MemphoWars, bringing you all of the combat sports news from Memphis and the Midsouth area, I conduct interviews with fighters, gyms, promotions and help highlight their hard work and dedication in this sport so that they get the recognition deserved (and hopefully help them improve on their media skills as they try to reach larger stages and promotions); I am the host of a podcast, Whit’s Grit, dedicated to real stories of resilience, heart, unbreakable spirit, and the kind of grit that simply refuses to quit, I talk to people from all walks of life that have been knocked down but refused to stay there, episodes drop every Wednesday on YouTube, Spotify, and Apple; Moving forward I will continue my advocacy work, encouraging others to step outside of their comfort zone, telling & showing the world that EVERYTHING IS OVERCOMABLE (the theme/message from my book), I am writing book number 2 in the series and my memoir, and doing everything I can to live my life to the fullest. Life is short and you never know what will happen in the next moment. I wake up and choose life and joy and happiness every day now.
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
I am an advocate, motivational speaker, author, podcast host, pre and post fight interviewer, combat sports reporter and commentator, I am also now offering social media management and website design and management. I wear a lot of hats, and sometimes a crown, but staying busy fuels me – and everything I do is to help someone else which fuels me even more so.
What matters most to you?
Letting others know that they aren’t alone in this world no matter what the struggle is. I truly believe that you are never to lost, never too far gone, to start over again. There is always hope on the other side of despair, and I am living proof of that. I want the world to hear me and know that EVERYTHING IS OVERCOMABLE. It’s okay to grieve and go through the down and out phase, but just don’t stay there. Pick yourself up, dust yourself off, and KEEP GOING. I think this is why I am so passionate about sharing all of these stories of overcoming the odds on my podcast. My hope is that the message from the guest each week will reach the one person that truly needs to hear it; that it will help shift their perspective in the just the way that is needed. Everyone has a story to tell, and I want to share them!
Contact Info:
- Website: https://whitneylavender.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/whitscomplex/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100039661952966
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/whitney-lavender-822259184/
- Twitter: https://x.com/WhItscomplex
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@WhitsComplex/featured
