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Lawyers in the House with Montlick - Your Legal Podcast
034 Double amputation car accident client talks with her lawyer about recovery

034 Double amputation car accident client talks with her lawyer about recovery

Lawyers in the House with Montlick

Attorneys in Podcast: Sara Root, Esq.

After a terrible accident, Keisha Green had both legs amputated below the knee. She needed to turn to someone who could get her the help and the financial assistance she needed, and so she came to Montlick.

For Limb Loss Awareness Month, Veronica talks with Keisha about how she not only survived her accident but insisted on thriving. The two are joined by Keisha’s attorney Sara Root, who fought relentlessly to get Keisha the recovery she needed to heal and start a new chapter of her life.

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The purpose of this show is to provide general information about the law. Our guests will not provide any individualized legal advice. If you have a personal situation and need legal advice, contact us for your free legal consultation with a Montlick attorney.

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00:05	ANNOUNCER: Welcome to Lawyers in the House. With Montlick. Wish you had a lawyer in the family? Now you do. Here’s your host. Veronica Waters. VERONICA: Hey, welcome to a special edition of Lawyers in the House with Montlick. I’m your host, Veronica Waters. And we’re so excited to have you here with us because today is going to be an extra special, phenomenal, stupendous episode that you are going to be so glad you tuned in for.
00:34	VERONICA: So, you know what? Text your friends, call everybody, let them know they want to tune in for this show because I am super excited, and we haven’t even started talking yet. Think about how people look at you differently when you cut your hair. Or you try a new shade of lipstick, maybe you put on 25 pounds. Or you lose 50. Folks look at you and say, there’s something a little different about you. What about when the thing that’s different about you is the fact that you’ve lost a limb?
01:07	VERONICA: Today, one of our two special guests is a woman who says that although she has had two legs severed, there is nothing missing from her life. And I’m going to introduce you to her right now. First, though, we’re going to say a happy hello to Sara Root, who is a repeat guest here on Lawyers in the House. Sara, a Montlick injury attorney. What’s up, girl? SARA: Hi. Thanks for having me. VERONICA: So glad to have you in the house.
01:33	VERONICA: Now, Sara, you may remember, got her undergrad and her JD from Michigan State University. She’s a Michigan native, and you could find her maybe doing stunts on her wakeboard at times when she’s not being a tenacious litigator and bringing home multi-million-dollar verdicts for her clients. So, Sara. SARA: Thanks for that introduction. Wakeboarding moments are getting fewer and far between, but I appreciate it. VERONICA: You know what? It’s time to take a vacation in that, you know, in that vein, you’ve got to, like, get back out there.
02:03	VERONICA: Tell me a little bit about ’cause I don’t know if I asked you this before. What inspired you in the first place to get into the law? Because you also have a concentration in health law, right? SARA: Yeah. So, I come from a family of a lot of medical professionals, my mom is a nurse. My mother-in-law is a nurse. My father-in-law is a doctor. My sister is a doctor. So, I always had an interest in that, but not really the stomach for it. So, going through the legal world was a way that I found I could help people who have had injuries or medical challenges, but from a different perspective- not so hands-on on the medical side.
02:37	VERONICA: When you got into it, was it everything that you expected, or did you have some curveballs? SARA: I think the biggest thing that I experienced was just the different hats that we wear as attorneys. And I know we’re going to talk about Keisha’s case, but you know, in particular, just kind of… when you’re going through the case as it evolves, not just the legal side, but the human side and your client and how they’ve been affected, that really is something that I think you carry with you.
03:10	SARA: And kind of go through that part together. So that was an interesting aspect that I didn’t expect or anticipate when I was young and first starting out. VERONICA: Wow, I’m so eager to delve into what the friendship and the attorney-client relationship has been like between you and our extra special guest today.
03:27	VERONICA: Her name is Keisha Green; and as Sara said, she was a client of hers because almost ten years ago now, Keisha suffered a traumatic car accident, which left her a bilateral amputee. But before those days, she was already a mom of three, an entrepreneur, someone who was launching her place in the world with style and panache.
03:54	VERONICA: And now is inspiring people with a story of how to triumph, how to survive and how to thrive even when life throws you, as we just talked about, some really tough curve balls. Keisha, hello. KEISHA: Hello! VERONICA: Thanks for being in the house. KEISHA: No, thank you for having me. VERONICA: Tell me a little bit about you. I sort of gave people, like, this overview of you as a person, you know, but that’s just the outlines. Like, who are you really?
04:21	KEISHA: Well, today I’m a businesswoman, an entrepreneur, but I am still a mom of three amazing kings and, you know, just really being able to press through life in spite of what I’ve been through, running my businesses. So, you know, I own salon suites and I’m into fashion. So I have a push collection, but also being able to align with my amputee community as one of the things that I also do now today. VERONICA: And that is what we are talking about today. As we sit here, April is Limb Loss and Limb Difference Awareness Month.
04:52	VERONICA: And what better way to bring awareness to this issue than by talking to someone who has met the challenges and can sort of help people through by talking to us about what her journey has been like? Maybe teach us a little bit along the way about how we should interact with people who are differently abled, right? So Sara, Keisha, thanks for being in the house with me, your girl Veronica. So here on Montlick… Montlick’s show, Lawyers in the House with Montlick, we have talked about traumatic injury.
05:21	VERONICA: Sometimes it happens at work. You know, maybe a hand gets caught in a machine. Maybe a little girl’s finger gets caught in an oven door. You can have a mishap in the kitchen. Car accidents. Let’s start by painting a broad brush of the way we got here with Keisha. I mentioned that there was a car involved.
05:47	SARA: Right. And so actually, I remember very clearly the first conversation that I had with Keisha, which was just over the phone and she had called into our office and it was a little bit of a complicated fact pattern in terms of how the accident had occurred. And so, I was very focused on that. And I remember asking her a lot of questions. And even then… Keisha, you’re so positive. I mean, the tone of her voice is just so sweet, and she was just so positive.
06:17	SARA: And so finally, I mean, it was probably good 45 minutes in. I finally said, okay, and so what were your injuries? And I actually, I didn’t say that. I asked her, and so were you injured? She was like, yes, I lost both of my legs. And I was like… I took a second to register because it just wasn’t, to me, it wasn’t matching the person I was talking to. And I was just so taken aback, and I felt so bad because the person you had first talked to at the firm, you know, somebody is just taking a couple notes down.
06:47	SARA: And as I scroll down, sure enough, I saw that, but I just wasn’t prepared for that. And so that’s how our relationship started was just as attorney and client. And then I came and met Keisha at her house, and I remember that in particular at that time, she had a house with stairs. It was like a duplex, a split level. When you came in there were two sets of stairs. And so, at the time, you know, this was fairly new. Your oldest son would carry you up and down the stairs.
07:17	SARA: And it was just, I mean… Her sons are just remarkable. And they’re so sweet. It’s so caring towards their mom. But it was just so eye opening what she was going through at that point on a day to day basis. And I just was really motivated to help her as much as we could. VERONICA: And that her dynamic personality was what shone through right from the start, not this woe is me attitude. SARA: No. Yeah, always, that was just remarkable.
07:44	VERONICA: Talk to me about those early days, Keisha, when you had had this accident, and you know… what are some of the first things you remember thinking and feeling? KEISHA: Well, some of the first things that I was realized is that number one, I’m different. Things are changing and things have changed fast. So now what’s going to take place next? And oftentimes when things change for us and we look at them as bad traumatic or you know tragic, we immediately go into a place where we may be feeling like a burden, right?
08:19	KEISHA: Upon our family, upon others, those around us… are looking for sympathy. And for me, I quickly realized I didn’t want to be a burden to my family. So, I skipped past the why and I began to ask what? What am I going to do with this and what am I going to do next? Because if I’m able to have these thoughts, that means that I still have my mind. So, I have the ability to think and to strategize what I’m going to do.
08:48	KEISHA: So in the beginning, I just really knew that I didn’t want to be a burden. I knew that I wanted to be able to continue forward in life. And I didn’t have the answers at that time. But I knew they were out there. VERONICA: You knew they would come. How did you end up contacting Montlick to begin with? And what did you first think about Sara? What were your first impressions of her? KEISHA: First of all, Sara is so kind, she’s so sweet and she has this, like, a compassion. And she’s consistent.
09:17	KEISHA: She didn’t make me feel like a client. As if it was like, we’re going to go and we’re going to make money or anything. She made me feel like she cared about me. One, we’re very close in age, so I know it was really like a reality, you know, thing for her, even for me. Two of the doctors during my surgery, they were African-American women that were the exact same age as me. VERONICA: Wow. What do you think that meant for you personally?
09:45	VERONICA: How did that make you feel? KEISHA: I was just really like, wow… Like, these women, they saved my life. They’re the same age as me, you know, we’re the same ethnicity. I’m just like, wow, I think for me, it was just even more encouraging though to press forward. I didn’t want to disappoint those who had, you know, taken the time and useD their skills and their ability to be able to assist me in that moment.
10:18	VERONICA: That had to be one of the strongest decisions that you made, I think, just to skip past the why… because if I get a flat tire, I’m saying, why did this happen to me? You know… but here you are with one of the biggest challenges life can throw at you, and you were saying, not going to ask that. I’m moving ahead. I’m looking forward. That’s strength in and of itself. Do you both agree?
10:45	VERONICA: I mean… but you did tell me that you had a little help with that because you heard God speaking to you very early on. KEISHA: Yeah. So, the three days that I spent on the respirator originally- I say I spent three days with the Lord. And you know, he let me know that the legs I had wasn’t strong enough to walk into the territory that he had for me. So, hearing those words spoken for me, I heard, “Daughter, there’re still places that you’re going to go.” And when I heard “territory,” I actually heard “nations,” you know.
11:15	KEISHA: So, it’s all about how you receive that moment and what you’re hearing. We all hear things and we can actually… they sound different to each one of our ears. VERONICA: I am curious to know how old your boys were when the accident happened. KEISHA: Okay, so my oldest was 12, my middle son was 9, and my youngest was 6. VERONICA: Were you concerned about how they would handle everything?
11:46	KEISHA: Absolutely. VERONICA: What their lives would be like. KEISHA: Absolutely. Yeah. Absolutely. You know, even when I was driving this morning, I was thinking about them. And I was thinking, you know, a lot of times people will immediately think how you decide to handle a situation… It is a reflection of how your kids will receive it. And the one I was worried about the most was my youngest, the 6-year-old. So, I remember being in a hospital and I remember being so afraid for him to actually see my legs.
12:14	KEISHA: I thought that he was going to be, like, so scared. And we actually had a personal moment where I had everyone leave the room, and I just really was like, hey, you know, do you want to see? And he was like, yes. And so, I showed him. And he was just like very accepting. Went to school the next day told his entire class and came with a handful of cards. VERONICA: Did you cry? KEISHA: Yes, I cried. Of course I did.
12:44	VERONICA: Immediately. I’m like tearing up. How sweet is that? KEISHA: Yes, we did that. I was just so excited that he wasn’t embarrassed of me. VERONICA: Coming up, we’re going to talk a little bit more about how difficult it was for Sara and the Montlick team to handle Keisha’s case and about a very personal decision that Keisha makes about how she moves through life. That is straight ahead. I’m Veronica Waters. This is Lawyers in the House with Montlick. You’re listening to our podcast, Lawyers in the House with Montlick.
13:17	Join us 8 a.m. every Sunday if you want to listen live on 95.5 WSV. VERONICA: All right, welcome back to Lawyers in the House with Montlick. I’m your girl, Veronica Waters, your lovable host here with two amazingly lovable stupendous guests, Sara Root, Montlick injury attorney, and her client and friend Keisha Green, a woman who was talking to us to help us with April as it’s Limb Loss and Limb Difference Awareness Month.
13:48	VERONICA: Keisha knows firsthand what it’s like to face those moments when life is suddenly upended. Things change in an instant. She is a bilateral amputee after a car accident nearly ten years ago. And she makes a very personal decision that she wanted to share with us. A lot of people have difficulty getting prosthetics or even wearing them comfortably. But for Keisha Green, she chooses, what? KEISHA: To not wear prosthetics.
14:17	VERONICA: When is the last time you had prosthetics on? KEISHA: I believe it was 2017. I did it 2017. I made the decision that you know I just really wanted to be myself. I wanted to be naturally me. I wanted people to embrace me as I was. I didn’t want to blend in. So, what the world had pressed upon me, you know…. Originally, you know, from the start, they immediately begin to say, you can have running legs, they have swimming legs, they have so many legs available.
14:48	KEISHA: Don’t be afraid. I’m like, why isn’t anybody saying, don’t be afraid to just be you. And so, I actually found my happiness and just being me without the prosthetics. VERONICA: Tell me about that journey, though, because I know just like, as you said, I’ve seen prosthetics with blades, there are people who run with them. They have different shoes on them. All these different looks that you could potentially get.
15:19	VERONICA: But I think you shared with me while we were talking off air that in some ways, you felt that the prosthetics were not necessarily for you, but for other people. KEISHA: Yeah, you know, I believe that everyone needs to make their choice and their decision. For me, they weren’t for me because I felt like they took away a lot of my focus on what it was that I would be thinking about. Would I be thinking about therapy?
15:42	KEISHA: Would I be thinking about the ground levels also would I be taking pain medications that also you know change my day to day life and the way I’m able to take care of my children and just handle life within itself? So, there’s so many things that come with that. The fittings and the pain. It’s just so much that people don’t necessarily take into account when they see you in them. They just say, oh, wow, those are prosthetics, but they don’t know the process that you go through in order to wear those prosthetics.
16:11	VERONICA: Speaking of the process, Sara, it was a lot seeing Keisha go through those. SARA: Yeah, because that was the first time I was really having that close of an encounter with somebody going through that process. So, the different fittings for the different limb heights. And I remember that was another thing they kept asking you is how tall did you want to be? And that was a strange concept. And… but it just kept being a recurring thing that it wasn’t very comfortable for you, which I think is ultimately what led you to this.
16:39	VERONICA: And why she decided that she was going to walk through life without prosthetics coming up. More of Keisha Green and Sara Root on Lawyers in the House with Montlick. You’re listening to our podcast, Lawyers in the House with Montlick. Join us 8 a.m. every Sunday on 95 point 5 WSB. VERONICA: Hey, hey everybody, welcome back to this episode of Lawyers in the House with Montlick. I am Veronica Waters, hosting two amazing ladies in the studio with me today.
17:10	VERONICA: Keisha Green, who is a former client and current friend of Montlick injury attorney Sara Root, who handled what turned out to be kind of a complicated case after a catastrophic injury that Keisha suffered nearly ten years ago, a car accident that led to her losing two legs, both legs. But Keisha says there is nothing missing in her life.
17:35	VERONICA: Now, if you missed any of the first part of the show, don’t worry, we got you, just check us out on all platforms, social @Montlicklaw, go to LawyersintheHouse.com. And just remember you can always like and subscribe to our podcasts on every platform. So, you never have to miss an episode and as soon as the new one drops, it’ll come right on your screen so you’ll know you can just tune us in any time. And remember, you can also send us questions 24/7. Just write us at [email protected].
18:03	VERONICA: Keisha Green and Sara Root. I want to talk more about… first, let’s touch on a little bit about the case. We haven’t talked about the actual accident and the case itself, Sara. SARA: Yeah, and some of that is because we ultimately did resolve the case with a settlement about a week before we were going to go to trial. So, it was a long process, several years of litigation. And then with the settlement, there were confidentiality requirements.
18:33	SARA: So, there’s some that were limited into getting into. But I mean, throughout that process, I know we did attend a mediation at one point. It was quite a while before the case ultimately resolved, but I mean, there were probably what, 20 lawyers? I remember going into that room and Keisha, I mean, her presence, she just really lit up the room. I know the mediator asked, you know, was there anything that you want to say? And then when she started to speak, everyone just became so intently focused on her.
19:06	SARA: And you know she was just so gracious and thanked everyone for being there. And you know her faith is important to her. And she just said, she knew that, you know, God was going to make this turn out the way it was supposed to. And she had every faith in that, and she appreciated everyone being there to be a part of that process. And that was just another one of those moments that was so enlightening, you know. Just to see Keisha- I think about Keisha often when I go through different cases because she just left such an impression in the way she handled herself throughout that whole process, the ups and downs with the challenges.
19:39	VERONICA: There is something about you, Keisha, that when you speak makes me just want to lean in. And just not miss one word. KEISHA: Wow. VERONICA: You just are so compelling. And it sounds like you’ve always had that sort of glow about you. KEISHA: I think I just, I’m really just trusting God, you know? And so of course, going through something like this, it really gives you a place of being… having gratitude and being grateful for just having life.
20:07	KEISHA: Not only that, you know, you don’t want to try to make people feel bad for you, and I think I don’t want to speak from a place of like, oh, look what happened to me… Do you not see me? because what I realized is that, you know, empathy only goes so far. And honestly, it’s not what I’ve been through or what happened to me that draws people to me. It’s the strength that I had to get through it, to continue to press forward.
20:38	KEISHA: So, I don’t think people are drawn to me because I lost the legs. They are drawn to me because I decided to stand where I didn’t have the ability to stand, or where they thought I didn’t have the ability to stand or just being able to embrace the fact that who needs legs when we’re all working for wings. So, there’s so many things that I find gratitude and each and every day.
21:02	KEISHA: Being able to still be a mom to my children whether I stood at the stove or I jumped on the counter to do it, still getting it done is what actually attracts people and what makes them feel inspired. VERONICA: The Amputee Coalition says that there are about 2 million people in the United States who are living with amputations. And about 30% of people who lose a limb or a digit are suffering from depression.
21:33	VERONICA: Did you sort of skip that part? Were you in that 70%? You were in that 70%. KEISHA: I was able to be in the 70%. Again, because I was able to say what I still have the ability to do. Not what I’m not able to do. You know, what can I still do? And honestly, for me, I feel like I can still do everything but stand in my own way.
21:58	KEISHA: So, it’s like, if you are willing to take the positive side over the negative, a lot of people fall into depression because they’re seeking validation and acceptance from others to be who they are. What the world says you should be. I believe if I was wearing prosthetics, I would be in depression. VERONICA: Wow. Because you would feel like you were living for someone else, not for yourself, not for the plans God has for your life.
22:30	KEISHA: Absolutely. I felt like a robot… for me when I wore them. I just didn’t feel like myself, even today when I look at pictures of myself wearing them… because listen, I walked 8 months after losing the legs. And I think I just wanted to kind of show people I can do it and… but I don’t want to do it. And so, going through that process, it was overwhelming. And then I would put on pants and I would feel like, oh, I’m just looking like everyone else.
23:02	KEISHA: Nobody’s able to see what God has done for me. And so, it was just saying, hey, when people see me, they’re going to say, I don’t know what happened to her. I don’t know if she was sick. I don’t know if she was in an accident. I don’t know what has happened, but there’s just something that comes from her- a light that I’m just like, wow. VERONICA: I wonder how much of what you go through in life when it comes to maybe people who haven’t lost a limb is people making assumptions about what happened to you.
23:35	VERONICA: Are you a veteran? You know, do you get that question a lot? You know, were you in the service? Do people… KEISHA: Absolutely. People ask me this. Sometimes I’m like, oh, it’s Veterans Day. Let me see if I can just go out here and get some food. VERONICA: Hey, let me get a free sandwich for my favorite sub shop. KEISHA: So no, actually, that’s one of the things that people always assume- that you’re military. They automatically think that people who are amputees or have lost a limb that they’ve been in the service.
24:05	VERONICA: Interestingly, most people who have lost some sort of extremity, it happens because of illness or infection, you know, a circulatory problem. And then that’s more than 50%. And then there is, in the mid 40 percentile, are people who have lost something through an accident, an injury, or something like that. And then fewer than 2% of people who are amputees got there because of cancer and cancer treatment and maybe the chemo did not quite help that limb recover or the circulation was damaged.
24:40	VERONICA: And so, a lot of what people are looking at you and thinking, this had to be some trauma or she must have been in a war zone. You know, a lot of us are making assumptions that we that we maybe shouldn’t, you know. We’re just like, hey, thank you for your service, ma’am. And we walk on down the street and you’re like, what? You know you know? KEISHA: Yes. VERONICA: And I want to say, too, about you not feeling like yourself wearing prosthetics with pants. The Internet has no shortage of photos of Keisha. I’ve seen a couple of your photo shoots.
25:10	VERONICA: And one thing I think is extremely striking is when you wear your pantsuits and your pants legs are there for people to see without legs or feet completely filling them out. And I do feel like that’s an artistic statement. And some sort of some other- maybe mission statement on your part just through a photo. KEISHA: You know, as I tell people, I slay every day without a shoe game. VERONICA: Let’s talk about some of the… how you got to this place.
25:41	VERONICA: You mentioned both of you had talked about the challenges. When we first started the show, Sara, you talked about going into Keisha’s house and seeing she had stairs. Her 12-year-old son is carrying her upstairs. And what was it like the first time you tried to go in the kitchen, make a meal, take a shower, go to the gym, you know… is your exercise routine… How does your exercise routine change? All of the stuff that you were doing, you’ve got to now make modifications.
26:07	KEISHA: I think one of the things that would allow people to have a better… word I’m looking to use… have a better outlook on where life is going to go for them is having the items that are necessary and needed. So, for me, it was very discouraging in the beginning. It was very depressing. I didn’t have the necessary items, you know, to be able to shower, to get through the doorways. So different things like that.
26:37	KEISHA: So, I just think that people being able to have the accessibility items that are necessary plays a big factor in you being able to accept where you are, you know? It has to be depressing each day to try to get through a doorway and you can’t fit, and you don’t have that independence. So, taking away that independence is, you know, it can be mentally draining. Not having that or having to have my 12-year-old son, you know, to carry me, it’s like, I want him to be able to be a kid.
27:11	KEISHA: So, I say that where I am today, it didn’t just, I didn’t just wake up this way. There was times where I had to accept where I was knowing that things were going to get better. VERONICA: So, you’re accepting of where you are, you are living in a place of abundance, you know, not lost. As you move through the world, what’s that like? Things are different outside your house, even, I’m assuming, you get your house retrofitted to make it accessible.
27:40	VERONICA: But then you got to go out into the world, Keisha. KEISHA: And it really opens up your eyes to what others don’t see. So being in a chair, I believe, I’m like, I’m sitting at a level to be able to see things that others don’t see you know. Having the accessibility, even for just like to go to basketball games and things like that, you know, you look online, you need to get the ADA seating. There’s limited spots or… you know, now I can only sit in this section because there’s only this place that allows me to buy a ticket and to be me.
28:14	KEISHA: So, you actually realize that the world is blind to a lot of factors and what’s necessary for everyone to be included. VERONICA: How frustrating was that? That you had to learn that lesson over and over. KEISHA: You say was that. It’s still very frustrating. VERONICA: Still very frustrating. So much that we don’t see. So much we’re not aware of. Yeah. And tell folks about the time when you were at the big box grocery store in a cart.
28:46	KEISHA: Yeah, so, you know, people believe that a disability has a look, right? It’s like it looks older, it looks like not fashionable and cute. So I’ve literally been places and I’ll be in a riding cart, you know, at the store and people ask me, “why are you in that cart” before they even take the time to fully look at me? I don’t even think that’s necessary before they just take the time to just allow someone to be themselves.
29:13	KEISHA: It’s like, I need to wear a T-shirt that says, hey, don’t worry about it. I’m missing the legs. And it makes it difficult. VERONICA: Yeah. You talked about earlier, hearing God say that you would travel into nations in your purpose, and you have been around the globe touching lives. KEISHA: Yeah, it’s amazing. So recently you know, I’ve been able to go over to Ghana and to do some work over there.
29:43	KEISHA: And just loving all the doors that has been opening for me, you know, all the places I’m able to fly into, literally, to do what it is that God has called for me to do from this position where I am. VERONICA: Coming up on Lawyers in the House with Montlick, more with Keisha Green and her lawyer and friend, Montlick injury attorney Sara Root. The Montlick closing argument is just around the corner. More coming up. Stay with us.
30:15	You’re listening to our podcast, Lawyers in the House with Montlick. If you want to listen to our radio show live, you can hear it every Sunday, 8 a.m. on 95.5 WSB. VERONICA: All right, welcome back to Lawyers in the House with Montlick and me, your host Veronica Waters with two very special guests.
30:35	VERONICA: We are talking to Montlick injury attorney Sara Root and her amazing client turned friend Keisha Green talking about Limb Loss and Limb Difference Awareness Month here in April and it’s time for the Montlick closing argument. So Sara and Keisha, take it away. SARA: Well, I just want to again tell Keisha how proud I am of you for being here. And I guess I’m proud of what we were able to achieve as well.
31:01	SARA: It was always my goal to be able to get to a point where Keisha would have the funds and the resources to be able to outfit your home and just make it comfortable and have the independence that you needed to achieve all that you have and all that you will. KEISHA: And I want to say thank you. Thank you to you. Thank you to the firm, you know. Thank you for you guys’ relationships, the resources that you guys had that allowed us to be able to, you know, handle the case appropriately and for me to be able to come out with the things that were necessary and needed.
31:34	KEISHA: And I know that plays a big factor in me being able to be who I am today is having the finances to be able to have a home that’s comfortable that I can live in on a day to day basis without worrying about, can I get in and out of the shower? And can I get through the doorway? So, you know I know that that was major. You know, to be able to have my car with hand controls and be able to have the independence to go around on my own to be able to buy the wheelchairs that make me comfortable you know.
32:04	KEISHA: So, the firm played a big factor in that because a lot of times, of course… not a lot of times- all the time- you need finances in order to be able to get the resources and the accessibility items that you need. VERONICA: What can you teach us, Keisha, about how to deal with people who are differently abled? Like, you tell me it’s still a challenge, even going to the gas station sometimes.
32:27	KEISHA: Yeah, so, you know, I think people just being open minded, being more open minded, especially not putting in a box what a limb loss or a disability looks like, what the person has the ability to do and what they do not have the ability to do, you know. So, I think it’s just being open to allow people to be their selves. Not making people always explain. You know, I think that’s one of the things, too, that can be a little weighing is constantly people saying, oh my goodness, what happened to you?
33:00	KEISHA: It’s like, I’m alive. Just embrace who I am and just be excited for that for me without me needing to go back in order to go forward. SARA: I was going to say Keisha has told us stories about, you know, like for example, if she drives up to a gas station, you would not look at her and assume that she has lost any limbs. So tell… VERONICA: Yeah, when she asks the attendant to come pump her gas. They’re like, why? You need to help yourself. KEISHA: You are too cute. Like, why? Like, you need…? They’re like, you need your gas pumped.
33:30	KEISHA: I’m like, yes, I need my gas pumped. I’m going to need you to pump my gas. And I don’t want to have to explain why. I’m calling inside. This is a policy. This is what you’re supposed to do. So, what do I need to look like in order for you to come up to my car and just do it without questioning me? VERONICA: Keisha Green, reminding us not to judge a book by its cover. Thank you so much for being here with us on Lawyers in the House with Montlick, Sara Root, Keisha Green. You can find her @IamKeishaGreen…
34:00	VERONICA: On Instagram? KEISHA: Yes. VERONICA: And your website? KEISHA: KeishaGreen.com. VERONICA: Montlick.com is where you can find us, and LawyersintheHouse.com as well. I’m your host Veronica Waters. We’ll see you next time. If you’re listening to our podcast, Lawyers in the House with Montlick, catch us live every Sunday, 8 a.m. on 95.5 WSB.

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