"A woman is like a tea bag - you never know how strong she is until you put her in hot water."
Eleanor Roosevelt.
Look Mum,
No Hands
the Podcast
Can someone with no hands and feet really live on their own? And is the average teenager willing to help?
Living in the country had rhythm. But, as quadruple amputee mum Mandy McCracken and her daughter Samantha know all too well, life can quickly take you in a whole different direction.
Look Mum, No Hands is a beautifully honest and inspirational diary of a disabled mother and daughter going out on their own.
A six part ABC podcast series, click below to listen to episode one.
Peer Support
Theres nothing like a shared experience.
In 2016, Mandy, together with Korrin Barrett (pictured on left) helped establish "The Quad Squad", a global support group for quadruple amputees. Together they held the first ever Quad Squad Muster in Sydney in 2017. Now with almost 300 members worldwide and growing, it is the only support group of its kind.
Plus for years now, Rod & Mandy have offered support to other new quad amputees and their families across Australia. It gave Mandy an idea.
Mandy launched Get Started Disability Support Australia in mid 2022. And she is bringing together a range of organisations to support those with disabilities throughout Victoria.
Mandy wants to ensure that every person discharged from hospital with a new disability gets the support they need.
Telling Our Story
There is power in honesty.
Mandy has recently completed a stint as a presenter on ABC Radio's digital channel. Her Saturday Afternoon's program was the perfect opportunity for her to share her story while discoverng what makes the world such an extrodinary place.
Together Mandy and Rod are regular faces in the media and happily tell their experiences of post traumatic growth after such enormous life changing events and the impact Sepsis has throughout our communities.
In Mandy's blog "Friends of Mandy" she shares hillarious insight into what living without hands and feet looks like. Her honesty, candor and humour has entertained and given a voice to thousands. She is also currently writing a memoir.
The Next Generation
Making the world more inclusive.
Mandy and Rod have worked as "Need Knowers" and ambassadors with TOM Melbourne. Helping to find solutions for people with disabilities, the annual 3 day event works with designers, occupational therapists and engineers to build products that are unavailable but sorely needed by the disability community.
Additionally, Mandy volunteers at La Trobe University's Prosthetic Department, helping teach the next generation of students how to make artificial limbs. And finally she was a board member for the Rivers & Ranges Community Leadership Program.