MONTGOMERY, Alabama – May 8, 2023 – On May 5, 31-year-old Taushima “Shima” Nixon achieved a dream ten years in the making when she graduated from Alabama State University (ASU) with her Masters of Science in Prosthetics and Orthotics. Motivated by a desire to give back and increase representation in the O&P field, Nixon is making history as the first Black woman with bilateral limb loss to become an O&P clinician.
In March 2013, when Nixon was still an undergraduate student, she was struck by a vehicle in Greenville, North Carolina, and ultimately lost both legs, one above-the-knee and one below-the-knee. With support from her family, friends, and medical professionals—including an early peer visit from Community Care Coordinator Stephen Shope and care from Hanger Clinic prosthetists, including Area Clinic Manager Todd Clay—Nixon recovered and regained her mobility.
After completing her undergraduate degree and working in recreational therapy for several years, Nixon felt a pull to return to school and become a certified prosthetist / orthotist, helping patients as she had been helped. In 2021, she received the inaugural Hanger Foundation Diversity Scholarship to support her studies at ASU, and in June 2023, her journey will come full circle when she begins her residency at Hanger Clinic in Miami.
NBC Nightly News aired a segment about Nixon’s incredible story on Sunday, May 7. Watch the full segment here:
About Hanger Clinic: Hanger Clinic, a subsidiary of Hanger, Inc., owns and operates more than 900 patient care clinics nationwide, where comprehensive, outcomes-based orthotic and prosthetic care is delivered. Rooted in over 160 years of clinical excellence and innovation, the certified clinicians of Hanger Clinic provide compassionate, expert care and customized solutions for all ages, designed to increase the mobility and function of each person we have the honor of serving. For more information on Hanger Clinic, visit www.HangerClinic.com.
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Krisita Burket, Hanger, Inc.
904-239-4627, kburket@hanger.com
Meghan Williams, Hanger, Inc.
512-777-3701, megwilliams@hanger.com