"It's important to try to come to an understanding of where someone's [racist] hatred might have originated from"

Jill Rippchen grew up in an all-Jewish neighborhood around the time of the Holocaust. In her community, Ms. Rippchen faced racism against her German heritage, as many of the people around her had associated the horrors of the Holocaust with Germans. From being called a "kraut" to being told to do menial chores by her neighbors, Jill tells us about how she dealt with the discrimination.

"I'm gonna be a better person for the rest of my life from what I will have learned from [my amputation]"

Jill Rippchen underwent a leg amputation surgery on September 12th, 2018. After 14 months+, we ask her how her daily life changed as a result of her amputation, as well as how she dealt with others' sympathy. Proving to be one of the strongest women we know (both physically and mentally), she tells us how she refused to accept any limitations on her physical abilities, pushing through until she was able to obtain a computerized prosthetic.