Everyone who watches our show knows that we can't resist a good makeover — and our latest one is pretty special.
In honor of Veterans Day, we gave Christy — a double amputee Army veteran from Lewiston, Maine — a makeover after her mother, Norma, nominated her. And spoiler alert: the celebrity stylist who helped us pull it off, Kyan Douglas, called it one of his favorite makeovers ever.
"I was really proud of Christy when she told us she was joining the Army," Norma tells us. "But as a mom, this is my baby girl. So that was really hard."
"She just felt that she needed to do something for our country," she continues.
Christy was a sergeant in the US Army as a military police officer. She joined in 2004, and when she was serving in Asia in 2006, she was in a line of duty incident that injured her brain and spinal cord, she tells us.
"That left me with no feeling below my knees," Christy says. Skull fractures also damaged her speech and memory, forcing her to learn vocabulary and word order all over again and leaving her with no memory of growing up.
"I felt so helpless and so dependent on everyone for so long that I think the first three years of rehab was the most frustrating part of my life ever," she says.
As time went on, her feet continued to degrade — and in 2015, she decided it was time to have her legs amputated.
"The first steps were a little shaky," Christy says of walking with prosthetics, "but I learned to walk really, really fast." She even started running for the first time six months after losing her legs and is currently the assistant captain of the US Para Ice Hockey team. Amazing!
"It was incredible to be able to have that option back in my life," she tells us.
"Losing her legs saved her life," Norma adds. "It was like I got my daughter back."
Now, Christy says she has walking legs, hiking legs, sprinting legs and legs for surfing — but there's one type of prosthetic leg she's still hoping for.
"One with an adjustable ankle [to] be able to wear heels or a wedge or something cute," she tells us.
That's why we called in Christy's prosthetist Rick to help us make Christy's dream a reality.
"I would love to go on dates. I would love to feel beautiful and sexy," the Army veteran says. "What I wear and how I dress is just to be functional."
As always, Kyan didn't disappoint. In addition to the adorable sandals and super flattering (and comfy!) burgundy dress he chose for Christy, he also gave her a sexy textured bob, since she had always been wearing her hair pulled back.
"I also wanted to say that we worked with Suave [on] this makeover, and it's fitting because they work with a foundation called Fisher House Foundation, [which] provides housing for military and veterans' families," Kyan explains. "So when someone is in the hospital for a long period of time, their families can come be with them at no charge at all."
From now through November 18th, look out for limited-edition packs and specially marked coupons that say "1 pack = $1 to support military families"—Suave is donating $1 for each one they sell.
How incredible is that?
For more information about Fisher House Foundation (and to watch their video), click here.
Watch the video above to see the big reveal (mom Norma was speechless!) and watch the video below to meet Christy's adorable service dog, Moxie. ❤️
This Inspiring Army Veteran's Service Dog, Moxie, Is Too Cute For Words
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