MUSKEGON, Mich. — A teacher from the Whitehall School District is sharing her story in hopes of inspiring others after a visit to the doctor changed her life. Elizabeth “Liz” Pardue learned pain she had been experiencing was from a blood clot in her leg that ultimately led to her leg being amputated.
Pardue is calling her amputation "a blessing in disguise" and said amputees are no different from anyone else.
“I feel wonderful today, it's a blessing to be here with you and it's a blessing just to be here,” Pardue said.
Pardue said she is grateful to be alive after the events of the past few years. In 2021 she woke up one morning unable to use the left side of her body. After a visit to the doctor she learned something previously unthinkable.
“I woke up and was not feeling well, my husband was telling me that my speech was blurred and my face was droopy so we went to the hospital right away and discovered that I was having a stroke,” Pardue said.
A stroke she learned was caused by a hole in her heart. After undergoing countless surgeries and rehabilitation, she continued to experience pain during simple tasks such as walking. Later, doctors discovered her pain was caused by a blood clot in her leg. After many failed attempts at fixing the blood clot, doctors decided her leg had to be amputated.
“Dr. Cole, who has been just an angel in my life, just put it to me that my leg was dying and it needed to go,” Pardue said. "I’m a pretty logical person and that made sense so I accepted it.”
Medical staff who worked closely with Pardue during her journey said her strength and hope has passed on to other amputee patients.
“She's just a really special person and she's one of our peer mentors, so she's able to share her story with other amputees and encourage them that there is a light at the end of the tunnel,” amputee care liaison Alex Swanson said.
This past weekend, Pardue walked in the Limb Loss Awareness 5K and is now an advocate for people who have also lost a limb. For Liz, sharing her story in an interview was something that made her step outside of her comfort zone, but if sharing her story touches even just one person, she said it was worth it.
“Remember it's a blessing to wake up every day, so when you have that mindset when you wake up and you're like “it's really good to be here today,” that changes your whole outlook on all of it,” Pardue said.
Pardue credits her incredible medical staff including Dr. Cole, her family and friends for supporting her during her entire journey she said she is now grateful for, having more hope and strength she hadn’t realized before.
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