First of all, allow me to introduce myself. My name is Amy M. Watson and I moved to Scott City after living in Texas most of my life. I’m a former high school teacher and a twice-published children’s book author. I moved into the area with my husband, Dr. Anthony Watson, in June of this year when he took an agronomy position in Healy, KS with Sharp Bros. At the time we moved here, I was wheelchair-bound and could get around very little without its aid. I have a degenerative bone/disc/cartilage disease and have had to undergo three spinal surgeries since the age of 23 (I’m 48 now) along with pain management due to the excessive pain that I have to endure. Last spring, after several falls and unmanageable pain caused by my advanced arthritis, there came a day when I resigned myself to the fact that I’d most likely be in a wheelchair all my life. That was a very dark day indeed. My family has had to watch me suffer over the years and stand by, feeling helpless, as my health deteriorated. They came to also believe I’d be in a wheelchair the rest of my life. Even my father, whose health is also poor, told me over and over he’d change places with me if he could as tears would fill his eyes. “If I could take this pain from you, I would,” he’d say. But he couldn’t. No one could.

Then I moved to Kansas and heard about Miles of Smiles. No matter with whom I spoke, everyone said the same thing, “It’s a great organization. If anyone can help you, it’s them.” I heard this many times from many people. So I contacted your former director who gave me the information I needed to start the process of getting signed up for therapy. Unfortunately, she left before I could get involved with the program, but luckily for me, Sarah Kennington had heard about my passion for horses and my desire to receive equine therapy and had volunteered to be my trainer/therapist. I didn’t know it then, but she would end up being my own personal angel who would help me emerge from the wheelchair. Without going into too much detail about the transition, allow me to say that under her care and supervision, I have gradually gone from using the wheelchair most of the time to seldom to never. I eventually became strong enough to graduate to using a cane which I used until a week ago when I began walking on my own again, unaided. This is entirely due to my core strengthening/muscle building and balance exercises on the horses under Sarah’s watchful eye and constant encouragement. She has always let me work at my own pace, while also challenging me with new opportunities for growth and development. Her hands were there to steady me when I was so weak, and she never left my side, always keeping complete control of the horses she chose for me. Her unique ability to choose just the right horse for my current needs impressed me very much