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Lauren Scruggs Kennedy on Jason Kennedy & removing her prosthesis

Larry King NowJun 05 '17

Lauren Scruggs Kennedy, who lost her left hand and eye when she walked into a plane’s propeller in 2011, discusses her work to help other women through her foundation & her marriage to Jason Kennedy, & removes her prosthetic arm for the first time on-air.

Larry King interviews Lauren Scruggs Kennedy, an author, lifestyle blogger, and entrepreneur. In 2011, Kennedy lost her left eye and left arm when she exited a plane in the dark and walked into a spinning propeller. Now she works to empower young women through her lifestyle website and with the Lauren Scruggs Kennedy Foundation. Larry compliments her silicone eye and arm prosthetic, and asks what happened the night of her accident. Kennedy describes going on a ride on a small plane and being hit by the propeller, though she doesn’t remember much and learned most of her story from family members who were present. Larry asks how her prosthetic arm has impacted her life, and Kennedy says it helped her feel like a whole person again.

Asked to describe the Lauren Scruggs Kennedy Foundation, Kennedy says it provides cosmetic coverings for prosthetics and helps female amputees through their journey. It was inspired by her friendship with Bethany Hamilton, who lost her arm in a shark attack. Larry inquiries if insurance covers prosthetics, and Kennedy says not often, giving an example of a mother who lost all her limbs but could only get hooks for her hands under her insurance. Kennedy’s foundation works with ARTech, a company that paints prosthetics, and the website islskfoundation.com.

Larry asks how Kennedy’s family reacted to her accident. Kennedy calls her fraternal twin sister her rock, and says her parents also gave her strength and support. When asked if the accident changed her perspective on beauty, Kennedy affirmatively replies that she finally realized that beauty is also internal, though she rebelled the mentality of victimizing herself. She decided to use her accident to inspire others when she met Hamilton and wanted to extend that friendship via a camp for girls who had lost limbs. Larry asks about her life before the accident, and Kennedy says she had started a blog, reported on fashion weeks, and modeled for fun, living on what she calls a shallower level.

Larry asks how Kennedy met her husband, and she says they were introduced by his E! News co-host Giuliana Rancic a year after her accident. Though Kennedy had to explain a lot of her post-accident habits, she calls him one of her biggest supporters, who loves her little arm and the scarred side of her face. Larry asks if Kennedy thinks she’ll be associated with the accident all her life, and she acknowledges it is only part of her story. The biggest misconception about amputees, she answers, is that they’re not able to do as much. She has become more empowered and a deeper person, with a different perspective. In addition to her inspirational work, she is launching a dry shampoo line, Stranded, with she brainstormed with her best friend. When asked where she’d be without the accident, Kennedy supposes she’d be blogging, but she wouldn’t have met her husband.

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