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Whitney Lavender

@whitscomplex

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1st Runner-Up Ms. Wheelchair America 2027
Author: Whit & Wheels 📖
Podcast Host: Whit’s Grit 🎧
Motivational Speaker 🎤
Bilateral Above-Knee Amputee 🦿🧡

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This moment is one I will carry for the rest of my life.

So many emotions - one defining moment. Heartbreak and joy standing side by side, neither one willing to step aside for the other.

I came so close to something I have wanted more than almost anything. To watch it slip away in an instant stung. I am human. My heart, my work, my late nights, and the parts of this journey no one else saw all went into that stage. I know I gave it everything I had.

And in the same breath, I was filled with a joy I did not expect to feel so fully. @jamiemwa2027 is the right woman for this crown. I have watched her advocate with quiet fire this past year, and last week I fell in love with her spirit. She is deserving, and I am proud to roll beside her.

I am honored to serve as First Runner-Up, @ms_wheelchair_america 2027. That title is not a consolation. It is a responsibility. A responsibility to keep showing up, to keep speaking, to keep lifting our community, and to support our new Queen every step of her reign. Jamie knows I am here: to help, to cheer, to carry what she needs carried.

Two opposing feelings can live in the same heart. I am learning they do not cancel each other out. They simply tell the whole truth of what this week meant.

Congratulations, Jamie. The work continues - for both of us.

#MsWheelchairAmerica #MsWheelchairTennessee2026 #RollWithoutLimits #AdaptiveMartialArtsforAll #firstrunnerup taken in Amway Grand Plaza Hotel by @whitscomplex

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Hello & welcome! 🤍
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I’m Whitney Lavender ♿️🦿 — a determined double above-knee amputee, CRPS Warrior, Ms. Wheelchair TN 2026, author, motivational speaker, podcast host, business owner, and unapologetic advocate for living life to the fullest.
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I may not have any legs, but I refuse to let that define or limit me. These days you’ll find me hunting, fishing, kayaking, traveling, and training jiujitsu — because I’m not letting life pass me by.
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This page is built for resilience, unbreakable spirit, heart, and grit that refuses to quit. Everything is OVERCOMABLE… it just might take some trial & error 💪
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I’m so glad you’re here!!
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Drop a 🫶 in the comments if you’re new and say hi — I read every single one.
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#WhitsGrit #WhitandWheels #RollWithoutLimits #Amputee #DisabilityAdvocate

📸 @locusvisions by @whitscomplex

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a year ago

It’s you versus you. No one else.

You are the only person who can choose to become a better version of yourself every single day.

Who cares what everyone else is doing? Who cares who’s watching? Just do you.

Today, though, it was me versus this basketball goal. 😂 And I can promise you—I’m going to keep coming back and working at it until I perfect it.

Great workout this morning. Beautiful day outside. So much to be grateful for.

Just doing everything I can to be a better me.

What about you?

#WhitsGrit #WhitandWheels #fitness #Workout #ʏᴏᴜᴠsʏᴏᴜ taken in Kroc Center of Memphis by @whitscomplex

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4 hours ago

Day 2 of the free eBook offer…have you downloaded yours yet?!?!

Today I want to give this cover by Valerie Wieners a moment to shine.

But this cover isn’t just pretty. It’s a real moment.

After my first amputation, I stood in front of a mirror on my first prosthetic leg and told myself I was beautiful — for the first time in my almost 40 years of life.

Valerie captured it PERFECTLY.

Please 🙏 go have your mirror moment. Tell yourself you’re beautiful. Capable. Amazing. Whatever you needed to hear years ago and never got.

Then come tell me how it felt.

The eBook of Whit and Wheels: A Journey of Courage is still FREE on Amazon through Friday, October 2.

Watch the full read-aloud anytime: https://youtu.be/9lOFW9DKL2o?si=EwTuWbyfeyZlDQvZ

Free eBook: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0F7FXPPHV

Everything is OVERCOMABLE.

Written by: @whitscomplex
Illustrated by: @valeriewieners
Published by: @landonhailpress

#WhitandWheels #WhitsGrit #bookstagram #childrensbookstagram #freeebook by @whitscomplex

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5 hours ago

I set a new goal for myself at the gym this morning (quite literally)…I will get that basketball in that net. Eventually. 🏀

@krocmemphis

#WhitsGrit #WhitandWheels #YouBelongHere #Basketball #Amputee taken in Kroc Center of Memphis by @whitscomplex

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8 hours ago

This week I choose gratitude and joy.

A lot has been filling my cup lately. Enough that it could tip into overwhelm. But still, the louder thing is thank you.

Thank you for the opportunities.
Thank you for the people.
Thank you for the ordinary moments that quietly become the good ones.

So this week I’m not rushing past it. I’m celebrating the joy already here, and saying thank you for every bit of it.

What are we choosing this week?

Drop your word below. 👇💜

#choose #WhitsGrit #WhitandWheels #whatdoyouchoose #liveintentionally by @whitscomplex

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10 hours ago

I’m overwhelmed with emotions and so full of gratitude for this experience today.

I used to spend HOURS each day practicing and honing in the skill of #Archery. Everyone knows I love hunting, but #bowhunting is next level in my world.

…and of all the things I truly thought I’d never do again after two leg amputations - shooting my bow was at the top of that list.

It did very much feel like riding a bike though. I forgot how much I love that feeling, that rush, when the arrow flies off the string & rest and soars towards the target.

So grateful to have found the incredible humans at Shelby Forest Archery that helped me reclaim a part of me I thought I might never see again.

Grateful doesn’t even begin.

If you need me, I’ll be slinging arrows somewhere 😉🏹🎯

#WhitsGrit #WhitandWheels #compoundbow taken in Shelby Forest Archery & Gun by @whitscomplex

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19 hours ago

The best person for the job! 💜

When someone asked @jamiemwa2027 what her role is now as @ms_wheelchair_america she didn’t blink.

She carries the weight of 17 million people in the disability community — plus the sisterhood that crowned her and the women who paved the way.

Use the story. Turn the pain into purpose. Bring as many people as you can with you.

That is the assignment.

Full episode: https://youtu.be/TCmbLl8sLLY

#WhitsGrit #MissWheelchairAmerica #DisabilityAdvocacy #HealthcareAccess #Podcast by @whitscomplex

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21 hours ago

When I talk about martial arts providing community, this weekend is exactly what I mean!!

Gyms from all over the city, and beyond, joined forces for the ultimate #jiujitsuseminar on Saturday at @warriors.martialarts (what a way to christen the new gym!) I couldn’t believe how many people showed up to roll!

Coaches @lawschoolmma, @cageman2.0, @bomaye_ao and @jonesmma11 put on a great clinic focusing on everything from the basics of shrimping and tactical stand-ups, to setting up the twister. I learned a lot and have some new drills to be training thanks to them all.

And thanks to @jamie2gs and @kokones901 we had burgers, hotdogs, and the best snow cones in #Memphis after all that hard work. Everyone kicked it in the parking lot and had a time of fellowship to wrap it all up.

Saturday reminded me of all the reasons I love #jiujitsu & just how grateful I am for ALL it has brought to my life!

#RollWithoutLimits #AdaptiveMartialArtsforAll taken in Warriors Martial Arts & Fitness by @whitscomplex

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Oh you have a @bassproshops in your town?

That’s cute. Ours came with a 32 story pyramid overlooking the Mississippi River.

We are not the same 😉🤣🔺🏹🎣🛶🐊

@basspropyramid

#WhitsGrit #basspro #bassproshop #basspropyramid #memphis taken in Bass Pro Shops at the Pyramid by @whitscomplex

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a day ago

Y’all!!!! This bow has been sitting in its box since 2017. I shot a hog in South Texas, and two weeks later I was injured. So it sat…and I didn’t think it would ever be opened again.

That was, until today. Not only did I open it, but I shot it again!! …and as you could see I wasn’t too shabby after nine years off and two legs lost.

I cannot thank the guys from Shelby Forest Archery enough for taking such great care of me today, and providing me this incredible comeback moment. I am overwhelmed with emotion right now.

She’s currently sitting at 37.5 pounds while I get used to shooting again. But maybe, just maybe, I can get this sucker turned back up and hunt with it this season.

Let’s go!!!!!! 🏹🔥

#WhitsGrit #WhitandWheels #Archery #archerylife #bowhunter taken in Shelby Forest Archery & Gun by @whitscomplex

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