Photo by Tate Tullier http://www.tatetullier.com/
Karen was born with normal hearing and became hard of hearing after a bout of illness in elementary school. At the age of 19, she tripped over a wake while barefoot water skiing and cartwheeled into the water. She thought she merely had water in her ears, but being deaf was here to stay, thanks to a wacky gene in her family. Becoming deaf turned out to be a blessing; after she dried the tears, Karen decided to embrace life and a whole new world opened up.
Karen blogs at A Deaf Mom Shares Her World, and has written for Disaboom, Parenting Squad, Chicago Moms Blog, and Jobs, Careers and Callings. She is a regular columnist at the Chicago Tribune TribLocal and Chicago Now.
Karen is a board member of Hands & Voices, a parent-driven organization that is dedicated to providing non-biased support to families with deaf and hard of hearing children, and founder and former President of Illinois chapter of Hands & Voices.
At the age of 44, Karen took up barefoot water skiing again and now competes in barefoot tournaments. She is a sponsored skier at the World Barefoot Center. She has been featured on espnW, Growing Bolder, Ability magazine, and AOL That’s Fit. Her story can be found in Chicken Soup for the Soul, Find Your Happiness and MORE magazine, November 2011 issue. Karen is the recipient of the Hot Mommas Project Award for Sports, Wellness and Fitness.
More about Karen Putz:
Disaboom–Deaf Mom Finds Humor While Parenting
Borderless Thinking, Confidence Chronicles
