"I'd like to see more exposure for amputees in entertainment, but not just as victims of an accident or background in war movies. I think more exposure on television and in film would help people become more familiar and comfortable with amputees and, hopefully, cut down on the shock and discrimination amputees are subject to because they've lost a limb," Vanessa King says, "Society has to play catch up soon. More young men and women are coming home from Iraq and Afghanistan as amputees. The way amputees are judged still surprises me, but I don't focus on the rejections. Instead, I keep moving forward and hope things will change."
King knows what she's talking about when it comes to discrimination because she is a recent amputee.
After finding success in the theatre as an actress in Canada, her home country, she moved to Los Angeles to seek a career there. For any actress starting out in Los Angeles, it's a struggle.
"Auditioning for commercials was not what I was interested in at the time. Unfortunately, without a SAG card--or a member of your family in the business--it's next to impossible to get a theatrical agent," King explains. "Luckily I stumbled upon a new career when I took a job with a bikini manufacturer and was paid to teach myself how to put together a four-color magazine in-house. I ended up working for myself as a graphic designer, and later taught myself web design. Things were going really well for a while"
Life changed with a single event in the Malibu Canyons.
"On Memorial Day 2003, I went riding with friends. I was riding my own motorcycle when there was a freak accident. I bounced a few times while still hanging on to over 400 pounds of metal. I hadn't let go of the clutch and tore my aorta, ripped my brachial plexus nerves, and destroyed my arm," King remembers, "A full-face helmet saved my head and face. I remember trying to decide whether to buy the best helmet the store had--at over $400--or go the cheaper route. The sales guy asked me 'How much is your head worth?' So I bought the expensive helmet, which got pretty banged up in the accident, even the lining blew out. Had I not been wearing that helmet, I could have sustained a severe brain injury or my face could have been ripped off. As it was, I had to be airlifted out of the Malibu Canyons to UCLA Trauma Center. Had I been taken anywhere else, I wouldn't have survived the accident."
Twelve hours of surgery to repair the aorta and save her arm, but not the use of it due to the nerve injury.
"I remember waking up knowing that, at some point during the surgery, one of the surgeons said they didn't think I was going to make it. They repaired my aorta with an artery from my leg. Somehow they saved my arm, but the nerves were destroyed. Had I been at any other hospital, I wouldn't have survived, but UCLA is a teaching hospital and they worked on me against serious odds. I believed stem cells would have been a viable option for repairing the nerves, but the doctors told me it would twenty to thirty years before stem cells could be used for that purpose," King says, "I left UCLA with an infection in my arm and was in and out of the hospital for the first month or two. I decided to amputate because I didn't see much sense in carrying around a useless limb."
While King accepted the loss of her arm, she wasn't prepared for the phantom pain.
"Having one arm hasn't slowed me down, but the phantom pain is still the biggest problem. It makes my life difficult," King explains. "Almost equally difficult is the reaction from people when I go out. When my arm was in a sling, people would always ask what happened. After the amputation, people stopped asking."
"For acting, you would think as an amputee I would stand out a bit. I not only can't get acting work, I'm having trouble getting hired as a graphic designer. A headhunter, who was very enthusiastic about placing me at one of two jobs in California, dropped me like a hot potato when I told her I had one arm. Another time a man looking for a graphic designer in Las Vegas told me that he was concerned I wouldn't be as fast as a two-armed graphic designer. At least he was honest, but it's frustrating. I don't see myself as an amputee or disabled in any way."
As for the acting work, King doesn't want to play a victim.
"What I'm noticing are postings for background with war injuries. I don't want to play a background victim. If I'm going to work as an actress, I just want to play a real character who happens to have one arm. I've never thought of wearing a prosthetic because it wouldn't have anything but a purely cosmetic function," King notes. "Unless they're cast as a victim, you just don't see amputees on television or in films."
King is a joy to talk with and her attitude is surprisingly positive as she has a warm, delightful voice similar to one you'd hear on the radio.
"It doesn't do any good to be angry or play the 'What if...' game," King explains, "So, I try to stay positive and keep moving forward."
"But, there are a few things about my status as an amputee that make me angry," King says. "In addition to having trouble getting hired, I can't get health insurance because I now have what's called a 'pre-existing condition.' I'm pretty political and believe this country desperately needs Universal Healthcare. If I were back in Canada, I'd be covered... for everything! I'm also angry that this country is lagging in stem cell research. I saw an article from the UK a couple of years ago regarding clinical trials, with stem cells, on teenagers who had the same type of nerve injury I had--that was frustrating."
Regarding work, it's been a struggle, but graphic and web design is something she continues to pursue.
"There's discrimination in every industry, but I won't be a victim. I will continue to educate as many people as I can, explaining to them I'm still as fast as someone with two arms." King adds, "I am hopeful that change is on the horizon because we have a lot of young amputees coming back from the Middle East."
For more information about Amputees in Hollywood link to www.amputeeresource.org/Talent.html.
To visit Vanessa King's website or find out more about her business visit www.icandi.com.
Pictured: Vanessa King
King knows what she's talking about when it comes to discrimination because she is a recent amputee.
After finding success in the theatre as an actress in Canada, her home country, she moved to Los Angeles to seek a career there. For any actress starting out in Los Angeles, it's a struggle.
"Auditioning for commercials was not what I was interested in at the time. Unfortunately, without a SAG card--or a member of your family in the business--it's next to impossible to get a theatrical agent," King explains. "Luckily I stumbled upon a new career when I took a job with a bikini manufacturer and was paid to teach myself how to put together a four-color magazine in-house. I ended up working for myself as a graphic designer, and later taught myself web design. Things were going really well for a while"
Life changed with a single event in the Malibu Canyons.
"On Memorial Day 2003, I went riding with friends. I was riding my own motorcycle when there was a freak accident. I bounced a few times while still hanging on to over 400 pounds of metal. I hadn't let go of the clutch and tore my aorta, ripped my brachial plexus nerves, and destroyed my arm," King remembers, "A full-face helmet saved my head and face. I remember trying to decide whether to buy the best helmet the store had--at over $400--or go the cheaper route. The sales guy asked me 'How much is your head worth?' So I bought the expensive helmet, which got pretty banged up in the accident, even the lining blew out. Had I not been wearing that helmet, I could have sustained a severe brain injury or my face could have been ripped off. As it was, I had to be airlifted out of the Malibu Canyons to UCLA Trauma Center. Had I been taken anywhere else, I wouldn't have survived the accident."
Twelve hours of surgery to repair the aorta and save her arm, but not the use of it due to the nerve injury.
"I remember waking up knowing that, at some point during the surgery, one of the surgeons said they didn't think I was going to make it. They repaired my aorta with an artery from my leg. Somehow they saved my arm, but the nerves were destroyed. Had I been at any other hospital, I wouldn't have survived, but UCLA is a teaching hospital and they worked on me against serious odds. I believed stem cells would have been a viable option for repairing the nerves, but the doctors told me it would twenty to thirty years before stem cells could be used for that purpose," King says, "I left UCLA with an infection in my arm and was in and out of the hospital for the first month or two. I decided to amputate because I didn't see much sense in carrying around a useless limb."
While King accepted the loss of her arm, she wasn't prepared for the phantom pain.
"Having one arm hasn't slowed me down, but the phantom pain is still the biggest problem. It makes my life difficult," King explains. "Almost equally difficult is the reaction from people when I go out. When my arm was in a sling, people would always ask what happened. After the amputation, people stopped asking."
"For acting, you would think as an amputee I would stand out a bit. I not only can't get acting work, I'm having trouble getting hired as a graphic designer. A headhunter, who was very enthusiastic about placing me at one of two jobs in California, dropped me like a hot potato when I told her I had one arm. Another time a man looking for a graphic designer in Las Vegas told me that he was concerned I wouldn't be as fast as a two-armed graphic designer. At least he was honest, but it's frustrating. I don't see myself as an amputee or disabled in any way."
As for the acting work, King doesn't want to play a victim.
"What I'm noticing are postings for background with war injuries. I don't want to play a background victim. If I'm going to work as an actress, I just want to play a real character who happens to have one arm. I've never thought of wearing a prosthetic because it wouldn't have anything but a purely cosmetic function," King notes. "Unless they're cast as a victim, you just don't see amputees on television or in films."
King is a joy to talk with and her attitude is surprisingly positive as she has a warm, delightful voice similar to one you'd hear on the radio.
"It doesn't do any good to be angry or play the 'What if...' game," King explains, "So, I try to stay positive and keep moving forward."
"But, there are a few things about my status as an amputee that make me angry," King says. "In addition to having trouble getting hired, I can't get health insurance because I now have what's called a 'pre-existing condition.' I'm pretty political and believe this country desperately needs Universal Healthcare. If I were back in Canada, I'd be covered... for everything! I'm also angry that this country is lagging in stem cell research. I saw an article from the UK a couple of years ago regarding clinical trials, with stem cells, on teenagers who had the same type of nerve injury I had--that was frustrating."
Regarding work, it's been a struggle, but graphic and web design is something she continues to pursue.
"There's discrimination in every industry, but I won't be a victim. I will continue to educate as many people as I can, explaining to them I'm still as fast as someone with two arms." King adds, "I am hopeful that change is on the horizon because we have a lot of young amputees coming back from the Middle East."
For more information about Amputees in Hollywood link to www.amputeeresource.org/Talent.html.
To visit Vanessa King's website or find out more about her business visit www.icandi.com.
Pictured: Vanessa King
